I*"  fll 


Columbia  (Bnitiersittj) 

intlieCitpoflfttigork 

THE  LIBRARIES 


HOMER   EATON 


BORN,  NOVEMBER   16,  1834 
DIED,    FEBRUARY     9,  1913 


THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 
NEW    YORK CINCINNATI 


7(^0  6 


HOMER   EATON 

BY  EZRA  SQUIER  TIPPLE,  D.D. 

'T~1EAR  death? — to  feel  the  fog  in  my  throat, 
J^  The  mist  in  my  face." 

Handel,  the  musician,  often  expressed  the  wish 
that  he  might  breathe  his  last  on  Good  Friday,  in  the 
hope,  as  he  said,  of  meeting  his  dear  Lord  and 
Saviour  on  the  day  of  his  resurrection.  The  sainted 
Leighton  used  frequently  to  say  that  if  he  were 
to  choose  a  place  in  which  to  die  it  would  be  in 
an  inn,  since  he  was  as  a  pilgrim  making  a  journey. 
Some  men,  however,  have  little  to  say  of  death. 
Not  that  they  fear  it,  but  life  is  sweet  to  them, 
and  work  under  shining  skies  a  joy.  Homer  Eaton 
did  not  often  speak  of  death;  he  seldom  talked  about 
heaven.  Why  should  he.^  He  was  living  an  abundant 
life;  his  companion  of  more  than  a  half  century  sat 
with  him  before  the  open  fire  when  the  day's  work 
was  done,  the  Church  honored  and  trusted  him,  he 
was  happy  and  content.  It  did  not  seem  to  him  as  if 
he  could  die — except  that  now  and  again  in  the  last 
months  he  would  make  some  veiled  reference  to  the 
approach  of  the  Messenger,  as  a  shy  maiden  would 
hint  at  the  coming  of  her  lover.  Even  at  the  very 
last,  like  Emanuel  Deutsch,  who  when  dying  wrote, 
''Yet  all  this  while  my  brain  is  teeming  with  work — 
work  that  seems  cut  out  as  by  special  primeval  ar- 
rangement and  for  me  only,"  Homer  Eaton  was 
planning,    planning,    planning,    impatiently    eager    to 


HOMER      EATON 


carry  forward  the  large  enterprises  the  Church  had 
committed  to  his  hands,  and  beheving  that  he  still 
had  almost  limitless  resources  of  vitality  and  vigor 
for  his  important  task.  But  it  was  otherwise  or- 
dained, and  suddenly,  at  the  end  of  a  beautiful  Sab- 
bath day,  February  9,  1913,  while  his  wife,  in  their 
home  in  Madison,  N.  J.,  was  reading  to  him  of  the 
activities  of  the  Church  to  which  he  had  given  the 
tireless  devotion  of  his  great  heart,  he  ceased  to  labor 
and  to  live.  It  was  the  close  of  a  long  and  notable 
career,  and  the  invisible  choir  of  angels  must  have 
sung  at  vesper  song  that  Lord's  day  in  the  Heavenly 

City, 

"Servant  of  God,  well  done! 
Thy  glorious  warfare's  past; 
The  battle's  fought,  the  race  is  won, 
And  thou  art  crowned  at  last." 

What  a  full  life  his  was,  for  he  was  born  Novem- 
ber 10,  1834,  at  Enosburg,  Vt.,  and  what  a  fruitful 
life!  Gladstone  once  said  that  there  is  in  this  world 
one  unfailing  test  of  greatness,  namely,  that  a  man 
shall  be  felt  to  be  greater  than  his  works.  Homer 
Eaton  was  larger  than  anything  and  everything  he 
did.  And  that  is  saying  much,  for  during  his  life's 
long  day  he  carried  many  heavy  burdens,  worked  at 
not  a  few  large  tasks,  overcame  various  and  towering 
obstacles,  toiled  early  and  late,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
day,  with  heart  unafraid  and  eyes  unashamed,  met 
the  Lord  of  the  Kingdom  with  a  glad  shout,  "Lord, 
thou  deliveredst  unto  me  five  talents:  behold,  I  have 
gained  beside  them  five  talents  more."  Nevertheless, 
he  himself  was  greater  than  his  achievements.    It  was 


HOMER      EATON 3 

his  personality  even  more  than  the  labors  of  his  hands 
which  stirred  our  admiration  and  won  our  approba- 
tion. Yet  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  he  accom- 
plished much,  and  never  more  than  in  his  latest  years. 
Lowell,  speaking  of  Emerson  as  a  lecturer,  said,  "For 
us  the  whole  life  of  the  man  is  distilled  in  the  clear 
drop  of  every  sentence,  and  behind  each  word  we 
divine  the  force  of  a  noble  character,  the  weight  of  a 
large  capital  of  thinking  and  being."  This  man  also 
put  himself,  his  ancestry,  his  wide  experience,  his 
long  years  of  devoted  service  into  what  he  said  and 
did,  and  his  words  were  words  of  prudence  and  wis- 
dom, and  his  deeds  were  worthy  deeds  because  he 
was  what  he  was.  How  unwillingly,  however,  would 
he  have  conceded  this.  Like  Moses,  he  wist  not  that 
his  face  did  shine.  Genuinely  humble,  without  osten- 
tation, simple,  without  self-assertiveness,  he  never 
gave  any  hint  that  he  reckoned  himself  a  great  man. 
Yet  he  was. 

His  natural  endowments  were  imperial.  Not  only 
was  he  well  born,  but  he  was  gifted,  like  Saul,  beyond 
his  brethren.  Nature  was  more  than  generous  with 
him.  Tall,  erect,  even  kingly  in  appearance,  with  a 
superb  head,  well  placed  on  ample  shoulders,  a  gra- 
cious manner,  and  a  stately  carriage,  wherever  he 
went  men  instinctively  turned  to  look  at  him  and  to 
inquire  concerning  him.  Born  in  Vermont,  among 
those  northern  hills,  of  American  stock,  he  was  the 
best  type  of  an  American,  like  Abraham  Lincoln,  of 
rugged  honesty,  granitic  strength  of  will,  and  lofty 
moral  purposes.  The  mountains  amid  which  he 
spent  his  boyhood  played  their  part  in  the  making  of 


H  O  IVI  E  R      EATON 


this  sturdy  man,  for  not  only  are  mountains,  as  Rus- 
kin  thought,  "the  beginning  and  end  of  all  natural 
scenery,"  but  they  lend  their  mighty  influence  to  the 
fashioning  of  the  lives  of  those  who  dwell  upon  their 
heights  or  walk  in  their  shadows.  The  historian  Park- 
man,  who  lived  out  of  doors,  and  knew  as  few  men  the 
secrets  of  nature,  declared,  "There  is  a  spirit  of  energy 
in  mountains,  and  they  impart  it  to  all  who  approach 
them."  Homer  Eaton  felt  that  mystic  touch  of  the 
everlasting  hills  upon  his  heart  in  his  youth,  and 
throughout  his  long  life  he  showed  at  all  times  evi- 
dences of  this  heritage  of  strength  and  power.  Not 
only  did  he  look  the  man  he  was,  but  he  was  every 
whit  the  man  he  looked.  A  workingman  said  to  the 
venerable  Dr.  Bacon,  of  New  Haven,  when  they  met 
one  day  in  the  closing  years  of  that  good  man's  noble 
life,  "We  are  glad  to  see  you,  sir,  walking  in  our  part 
of  the  town."  It  was  with  much  the  same  feeling  of 
pleasurable  gratification  and  even  reverence  that  you 
saw^  Homer  Eaton  approach.  His  presence  made  any 
group  a  more  consequential  one;  his  companionship 
made  any  hour  of  the  day  brighter,  and  any  piece  of 
the  road  easier  to  travel.  Where  he  walked  was  sun- 
shine, his  smile  l^rought  cheer,  his  handclasp  gave 
inspiration,  from  his  person  radiated  strength. 

He  early  displayed  marked  gifts  of  leadership. 
He  entered  upon  the  ministry  of  the  ^lethodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  1857,  when  he  joined  the  Troy  Con- 
ference on  trial,  with  which  his  father,  after  having 
supplied  as  local  preacher  numerous  pastoral  charges 
within  reach  of  his  farm  for  many  years,  had  united 
seven  years  previously. 


H  ()  iVI  E  R      EAT  O  X 


The  preparation  which  Homer  Eaton  had  for  his 
high  cailing  had  been  obtained,  Uke  the  Wesleys',  in 
the  home  circle,  and  hiter  at  an  academy  at  Bakers- 
fiekl,  Vt.,  and  still  later  at  the  Biblical  Institute, 
Concord,  N.  H.  It  may  not  have  been  as  ample 
perhaps  as  this  modern  age  demands,  but  it  was 
sufficient  to  give  him  a  love  of  books,  which  never 
forsook  him,  and  to  discipline  his  will  to  habits  of 
study  and  work,  which  never  failed  him  down  to  life's 
latest  day,  so  that  like  Green,  the  historian,  he  died 
learning.  Entering  upon  the  work  to  which  he  had 
been  summoned  by  the  Church,  he  began  at  once 
to  take  high  rank  as  an  effective  preacher  of  the 
gospel.  After  the  manner  of  Methodist  itinerant 
preachers,  he  preached  in  many  places,  and  in  every 
place  acceptably.  In  the  pulpit  his  personal  appear- 
ance again  was  a  contributing  factor  to  his  success. 
When  he  rose  to  speak,  the  people  waited  in  expecta- 
tion, and  he  did  not  disappoint  them.  His  voice  was 
rich  and  strong,  and  with  a  fine  appreciation  of  its 
value  he  made  it  serve  his  purpose  in  a  remarkable 
way.  He  really  loved  to  preach,  and  though  in  later 
years  he  did  not  often  exercise  his  preaching  gifts,  he 
ever  found  joy  and  satisfaction  in  heralding  the  "good 
news."  More  than  once  did  he  tell  me  of  pulpit 
experiences  which  were  precious  memories  to  him, 
wells  of  living  waters  from  which  he  often  drank  when 
at  the  bidding  of  the  Church  he  had  undertaken 
another  form  of  Christian  service.  When  we  think 
of  Homer  Eaton  as  a  great  Publishing  Agent,  we  must 
not  forget  that  he  was  first  a  great  preacher  and 
that    in    every    place    where    he    was     stationed     he 


6 H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 

exercised  leadership  through  preaching  to  a  conspic- 
uous degree. 

Let  it  not  be  thought  to  his  discredit  when  I  say 
that  he  was  a  denominationahst.  In  an  age  when 
there  is  much  talk  of  Christian  unity,  and  the  differ- 
erences  which  separated  men  in  other  years  are  mini- 
mized and  not  infrequently  ridiculed,  and  when  the 
beliefs  of  men  even  are  made  the  jests  of  scorners,  he 
was  proud  of  his  denominational  heritage,  and  sturdily 
refused  to  be  swerved  from  rigid  adherence  to  the 
historic  principles  of  Methodism.  His  love  for  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  pronounced.  For 
him  the  fire  always  burned  brightest  on  that  hearth. 
His  knowledge  of  its  history  and  traditions  was  both 
comprehensive  and  accurate.  His  devotion  to  its 
ideals  was  steadfast  and  complete.  When  he  was 
born,  Francis  Asbury  had  been  dead  not  twenty  years, 
William  McKendree  was  still  living,  as  was  the  bril- 
liant Henry  B.  Bascom,  and  as  were  many  others  of 
the  Fathers.  He  knew  them  and  their  works  at  close 
range.  Stories  of  the  hardships  and  heroisms  of 
Methodist  itinerant  preachers  were  told  him  at  his 
mother's  knee,  and  he  caught  thus  the  spirit  of  the 
Methodist  movement,  and  neither  the  passing  years 
nor  the  changing  age  ever  robbed  him  of  it.  He  was 
ever  a  denominationahst,  yet  without  bigotry,  a 
sectary,  but  free  from  intolerance.  His  pride  in  his 
denomination,  in  its  achievements  at  home  and 
abroad,  in  the  development  of  the  publishing  interests 
of  the  Church,  in  every  advance  in  education,  or 
philanthropy,  or  evangelism,  was  a  marked  char- 
acteristic.     How    refreshing    was    his    denominational 


HOMER      EATON 


self-satisfaction,    how    inspiring    his    denominational 
eagerness ! 

And  the  Church  appreciated  his  ahihties  and 
commanded  his  services  to  an  unusual  degree.  He 
served  two  terms  as  Presiding  Elder,  and  was  elected 
by  his  Conference  a  delegate  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence ten  times,  continuously  from  187*2  to  1912,  except 
in  1876,  when  on  his  own  initiative  another  was  chosen 
in  his  stead.  He  was  twice  a  delegate  to  the  Ecumen- 
ical Conference,  and  a  fraternal  delegate  to  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada. 
From  1880  to  1888  he  was  an  active  and  useful  mem- 
ber of  the  Book  Committee,  and  during  these  years 
were  begun  some  of  his  warmest  friendships.  Homer 
Eaton  had  an  unusual  gift  for  friendships.  Though 
he  was  alw^ays  busy,  he  seemed  to  find  more  time  than 
most  men  to  work  in  the  gardens  where  friendships 
grow.  Never  a  gossip,  never  garrulous,  without  a 
hint  of  softness,  seldom  giving  expression  to  his  feel- 
ings, and  less  frequently  even  bestowing  ''confidences," 
he  bound  men,  young  and  old,  to  him  in  a  remarkable 
manner.  Tliey  loved  him,  and  were  not  ashamed  to 
confess  it.  And  he  gave  like  for  like.  Who  that 
looked  upon  him  could  think  of  his  being  niggardly  in 
any  respect.^  His  devotion  to  his  friends  was  so 
generous  and  so  persistent  as  sometimes  to  arouse 
criticism,  and  to  imperil  his  position,  yet  would  not 
he  forswear  his  allegiance.  It  was  as  when  a  French 
monarch,  solicited  to  consent  to  a  dishonorable  treaty, 
cried  out,  "The  blood  of  Charlemagne  is  in  my  veins, 
and  who  dares  propose  this  thing  to  me.^"  It  was 
inconceivable    to    this    lordly-souled    Vermonter,    this 


8 HOMER      EATON 

chivalrous  Greatheart,  that  one  should  betray  a  friend. 
He  was  no  Judas.  His  lips  never  kissed  away  the  life 
of  one  with  whom  he  had  eaten  bread.  Life's  friend- 
ships were  sacred  with  him. 

And  not  alone  of  those  in  the  circle  of  his  intimate 
friends  was  he  considerate,  but  his  attitude  toward 
all  men  was  frank  and  generous.  During  years  of 
intimacy  with  him,  for  which  I  am  thankful  to  God, 
I  never  heard  him  speak  ill  of  any  man.  Even  when 
his  integrity  was  questioned,  when  his  motives  were 
misconstrued,  and  his  silence  w^as  misinterpreted,  even 
then  he  smiled  and  was  gracious.  There  was  no 
paltriness  in  his  devotion,  no  timidity,  no  cowardice; 
never  was  it  a  matter  of  calculation,  never  were  con- 
sequences let  to  determine  the  quality  or  duration 
of  it. 

His  was  the  heart  of  a  great  lover,  and  this  de- 
termined not  only  his  relations  to  people,  but  his 
outlook  upon  the  world.  It  was  with  a  cheerful  eye 
that  he  looked  from  his  window  into  the  fields  or 
upon  the  avenue.  He  loved  the  song  of  the  thrush,  the 
white  birches,  the  hum  of  bees,  the  flight  of  doves, 
the  fragrance  of  an  old-fashioned  garden,  a  country 
road.  It  was  God's  world,  and  he  was  at  home  in  it. 
He  w^as  interested  in  the  passing  crowds  in  New  York, 
in  Peking,  in  every  place.  They  were  God's  people. 
The  woes  and  sins  of  the  world  oppressed  him,  but 
not  to  the  extent  of  making  it  uncomfortable  to  be 
near  him.  His  sense  of  humor  kept  him  from  sourness; 
his  fine  optimism  from  despair.  His  interest  in  missions 
was  not  official,  but  personal;  not  perfunctory,  but 
spontaneous   and   perennial.      It   was   not   because  he 


H  O  :\[  E  R      EATON 


was  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  P'oreign  Missions  that 
he  was  -  concerned  for  the  peoples  beyond  the  seas, 
but  because  he  held  a  trusteeship  in  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  upon  earth.  God  was  in  his  world,  and  at 
work,  and  toward  a  divine  purpose,  and  he  was  work- 
ing with  him,  and  O!  the  exhilaration  of  it! 

"How  good  is  man's  life,  the  mere  living!  how  fit  to 

employ 

All  the  heart  and  the  soul  and  the  senses  forever  in 
I" 
]oy! 

Dr.  Eaton's  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Missions  was 
thoroughly  scriptural.  He  believed  that  God's  program 
included  the  "  discipling  all  nations,"  and  he  rejoiced 
to  be  a  co-worker  in  the  carrying  out  of  the  divine 
purpose.  He  was  made  treasurer  of  the  Missionary 
Society  in  1896,  and  thereafter  until  his  death  he  ad- 
ministered the  duties  of  that  important  office  with 
honor  and  to  the  advantage  of  the  work.  On  one 
occasion  he  went  as  the  representative  of  the  Board  to 
the  far  East,  and  everywhere  was  welcomed,  not  only 
as  a  friend,  but  for  the  wealth  of  his  wide  experience 
and  for  the  benefit  of  his  shrewd  counsel.  In  Shanghai 
he  gave  himself  to  the  particular  work  for  which  he  was 
there,  the  establishing  of  a  joint  Mission  Publishing 
House  as  decided  upon  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  South,  the  Canadian  Methodist  Church,  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  so  successful  was  he 
that  the  results  more  than  justified  his  designation  for 
this  delicate  and  important  task.  In  1910  he  was  a  dele- 
gate to  the  great  Missionary  Conference  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  and  as  everywhere  was  a  commanding  figure. 


10 HOMER      EATON 

On  this  occasion,  by  direction  of  the  Board,  he  visited 
our  missions  in  Europe,  visiting  the  Annual  Conferences 
and  mission  stations,  examining  mission  properties,  and 
giving  expert  opinion  concerning  values,  etc.,  and  ac- 
quiring knowledge  for  himself  and  for  the  Board  which 
proved  of  much  value.  The  confidence  of  the  Board 
in  his  judgment  and  skill  was  complete. 

It  was  in  1889  that  he  became  one  of  the  Agents 
of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern.  The  death  of  John 
M.  Phillips  had  left  a  vacancy  in  the  New  York 
House,  and  to  fill  this  important  position  Homer 
Eaton  was  elected  by  the  Book  Committee  at  its 
meeting  in  New  York  in  February  of  that  year,  an 
office  which  he  held  with  ever-increasing  distinction 
for  twenty-four  years,  a  longer  period  than  any  other 
Agent  in  the  history  of  the  publishing  interests  of  the 
Church.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life  when  he  came 
to  his  great  task  and  his  greatest  opportunity,  bring- 
ing with  him  a  disciplined  mind,  a  superb  physique,  a 
heart  enriched  by  varied  experiences,  and  a  character 
above  reproach.  In  architecture  it  is  said  that  the 
arch  never  sleeps,  but  faithfully  holds  its  burden  by 
day  and  by  night.  In  like  manner  and  with  equal 
fidelity  Homer  Eaton  served  the  Church  as  one  of  its 
Publishing  Agents.  He  was  a  tireless  and  unceasing 
servant.  He  had  no  other  ambition,  he  had  no  thought 
for  anything  else.  The  Book  Concern  became  his 
supreme  passion.  In  it  he  lived  and  moved  and  had 
his  existence.  Who  that  has  known  him  these  years 
can  ever  forget  how  completely  he  was  swallowed  up 
of  his  work?  It  filled  his  whole  thought,  it  fired  his 
imagination,  it  drove  him  hither  and  yon  in  the  last 


HOMER      EATON 11 

months  when  his  steps  began  to  falter.  His  was  a 
whole-hearted  service. 

Dr.  Eaton  had  certain  business  instincts,  all- 
important  in  the  management  and  development  of 
such  a  large  enterprise  as  our  Book  Concern  has 
grown  to  be,  and  which  contributed  in  no  small  meas- 
ure to  the  success  which  attended  his  labors  and  the 
labors  of  those  associated  with  him.  He  was  keen, 
sagacious,  with  power  of  initiative;  looked  at  things 
in  a  large  way,  saw  possibilities  of  growth,  was  coura- 
geous and  enterprising  yet  cautious;  knew  values  and 
men,  was  blessed  with  adaptability  and  tact,  and  was 
unfailingly  just.  I  am  not  saying  that  this  man  was 
a  business  genius.  "Men  give  me  credit  for  genius," 
said  Alexander  Hamilton;  "all  the  genius  I  have  lies 
in  just  this:  when  I  have  a  subject  in  hand  I  study  it 
profoundly  day  and  night.  It  is  part  of  me;  I  explore 
it  in  all  its  bearings  ;  my  mind  becomes  pervaded 
with  it.  Then  the  effort  which  I  make  people  are 
pleased  to  call  the  fruit  of  genius;  it  is  the  fruit  of  labor 
and  thought."  It  was  this  kind  of  genius  which  was 
Homer  Eaton's  most  conspicuous  contribution  to  the 
Book  Concern. 

Upon  his  election  he  determined  to  master  the 
vast  and  complex  business  which  he  had  been  asked 
by  the  Church  to  carry  forward,  and  by  patient 
inquiry,  by  persistent  observation,  by  diligent  study 
of  the  methods  of  other  publishing  houses,  by  per- 
sonal restrictions  upon  his  time  and  energy,  in  order 
that  he  might  do  this  one  thing,  he  came  to  have  an 
unsurpassed  knowledge  of  our  publishing  interests,  and 
while  the  growth  of  the  business  during  the  last  quar- 


K H  0  :M  E  R       E  A  T  0  X 

ter  of  a  century  has  been  unprecedented,  and  while  he 
would  have  been  the  last  to  claim  that  this  increase 
was  due  to  his  energy  and  acumen,  nevertheless  his 
was  ever  a  clear  brain  and  a  strong  arm,  and  to  him 
must  be  given  a  full  measure  of  praise.  This  is  not 
the  place  to  recite  the  annals  of  the  Book  Concern 
for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century — the  most  momen- 
tous period  in  its  entire  history — to  tell  of  the  con- 
troversies concerning  consolidation,  and  the  debates  as 
to  radical  changes  of  policy,  the  enlarging  interest 
of  the  members  of  the  Book  Committee  in  all  the 
manifold  problems  of  the  publication  and  circulation 
of  books  and  periodicals,  and  the  increasing  and 
signally  effective  cociperation  of  the  Local  Committees 
at  Cincinnati  and  New  York,  and  how  the  discussion 
carried  on  by  individuals  and  by  the  Church  press, 
and  by  commissions  and  General  Conferences,  finally 
eventuated  in  the  unification  of  all  the  publishing 
interests  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  under 
the  corporate  title  The  Methodist  Book  Concern — 
this  is  not  a  record  of  history  which  I  am  writing,  but 
a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  man  who  helped  in  a 
large  and  worthy  way  to  make  the  history  of  the  past 
twenty-four  years,  than  whom  no  man  was  more 
keenly  concerned  in  the  questions  of  such  transcen- 
dent importance,  and  who  in  his  quiet,  shrewd  way 
contributed  his  judgment,  wisdom,  experience,  and 
diplomacy  to  bring  about  the  final  outcome.  It 
will  ever  be  the  distinction  of  Homer  Eaton  that, 
the  General  Conference  of  191*2  having  determined 
that  there  shall  be  elected  quadrennially  four  Pub- 
lishing   Agents,    and      that     the     Book    Committee 


HOMER      EATON 13 

"  shall  designate  one  of  these  Publishing  Agents 
as  the  General  Agent,"  when  the  Book  Committee 
met  in  Minneapolis  for  organization  he  was  chosen 
as  the  first  General  Agent,  a  worthy  crown  of  a  dis- 
tinguished career. 

He  entered  upon  his  new  and  important  duties 
with  a  deep  appreciation  of  the  grave  responsibilities 
which  this  merited  but  weighty  distinction  laid  upon 
him.  It  was  a  new  path  along  which  he  must  go. 
There  were  no  precedents.  The  legislation  of  the 
General  Conference,  though  specific,  would  perhaps 
require  now  and  again  interpretation;  his  new  duties 
would  need  to  be  defined  more  clearly,  and  for  the  first 
time  in  all  my  years  of  acquaintance  with  him  I  thought 
I  detected  the  faintest  shadow  of  timidity  or  hesitation, 
but  he  kept  stoutly  to  his  task,  saying  over  and  over 
with  splendid  courage  and  fine  confidence,  "  I  will  not 
disappoint  the  Church.  I  have  been  asked  to  do  this 
work,  and  I  will  do  it  or  die."  How  characteristic  this 
was!  And  he  was  faithful  to  his  vow.  Death  found 
him  at  his  task  doing  the  work  the  Church  had  given 
him  to  do,  and  doing  it  well,  and  the  Church  will  not 
cease  to  cherish  his  memory,  or  to  bless  God  that  His 
servant  was  strong  and  steadfast  through  many  fruitful 
years;  that  his  faith  failed  not  at  any  time,  and  that  the 
labors  of  his  hands  were  more  and  more  abundant  with 
the  multiplying  years;  that  he  met  Death  with  hands  un- 
stained and  heart  unsullied,  and  that  when  he  went  away 
he  left  as  his  imperishable  monument,  a  monument  as 
expressive  of  his  personality  and  genius  as  Saint  Paul's 
Cathedral,  London,  is  of  the  constructive  ability  of 
Sir  Christopher  Wren,  a  greater  Book  Concern. 


14 H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 

There  is  an  old  Roman  epitaph  on  the  tomb  of 
two  young  children:  "From  themselves  they  took  away 
pain;  to  their  friends  they  left  it."  When  our  friend 
departed  he  left  sitting  in  the  shadow  of  the  great 
sorrow  many  whose  eyes  are  still  dim  with  tears,  and 
who  will  long  feel  the  sharp,  grievous  pain  of  their  loss, 
and  one  in  particular,  who  had  been  his  dearest  com- 
panion and  wisest  counselor  for  more  than  a  half 
century,  whose  smile  was  more  radiant,  whose  gracious- 
ness  was  more  perfect,  whose  hand  was  more  soothing, 
and  whose  comradeship  was  more  complete  than  all 
others,  and  to  whom  in  the  isolation  of  her  grief  and 
her  precious  memories  our  hearts  turn  with  affectionate 
sympathy,  and  for  whom  we  covet  the  comfort  and 
strength  of  God's  grace. 

Miiiute  read  and  adopted  at  the  first  session  of  the 

Annual  Meeting  of  the  Book  Conunittee  of  the 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  at  Cincin- 

nati,  Ohio,  Wednesday,  April  16, 1913. 


FUNERAL  SERVICES 


THE  FUNERAL  SERVICES 

At  the  Residence  in  Madison 

AT  the  hour  appointed — 2:30  in  the  afternoon  of 
Wednesday,  February  12 — all  available  space 
in  the  home  was  occupied.  In  addition  to  the 
near  neighbors,  including  those  from  Drew  Theological 
Seminary,  directly  across  the  way,  there  were  many 
fellow  townsmen,  members  of  the  several  churches  and 
a  number  of  friends  from  a  distance,  many  of  whom 
are  prominent  in  Methodist  circles.  The  room  where 
the  casket  rested  was  filled  with  beautiful  flowers. 

Dr.  Eaton's  pastor,  the  Rev.  George  Mooney, 
opened  the  service,  and  at  the  close  pronounced  the 
benediction.  The  publishing  agents  of  the  Methodist 
Book  Concern  at  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  Drs. 
George  P.  Mains  and  Henry  C.  Jennings,  offered 
prayer.  Dr.  John  L.  Fort,  of  Troy  Conference,  and 
Dr.  George  P.  Eckman,  editor  of  The  Christian  Advo- 
cate, read  the  passages  of  Scripture. 

"How  firm  a  foundation"  was  the  hymn  which 
the  assembled  company  sang,  all  standing.  Then 
followed  three  eulogies,  touching  with  tender  rever- 
ence upon  the  private  life  and  the  public  ministrations 
of  their  departed  friend  and  coworker,  these  delivered 
by  Drs.  Robert  W.  Rogers  and  Henry  A.  Buttz,  Dr. 
Eaton's  near  neighbors  for  many  years,  and  Bishop 
Luther  B.  Wilson. 

Dr.  Rogers  said,  in  part: 

"There  has  gone  out  from  among  us  a  man,  the 


18 HOMER      EATON 

very  figure  and  sight  of  whom  will  long  last  in  the 
inner  eye  of  the  minds  of  those  who  have  been  watch- 
ing him  during  these  years.  What  a  handsome  man 
he  was — towering  above  his  fellows,  dignified  in  every 
movement!  And  that  body  of  his — crowned  by  that 
noble  head,  with  a  profile  that  would  have  honored 
any  bronze  medal  anywhere!  What  a  face  it  was — 
lighted  with  a  smile,  or  solemn  and  earnest  when  he 
was  performing  some  great  deed!  And  what  a  voice 
he  had!  I  loved  to  hear  him  when  he  preached,  and 
can  still  hear  the  thunders  of  his  voice. 

"It  is  a  loss,  and  a  big  one,  and  nothing  will  make 
it  seem  light.  We  who  lived  so  near  him  here,  and  not 
only  admired  him,  but  earnestly  loved  him,  will  miss 
him.  The  only  and  best  hope  for  all  of  us  is  that 
some  day  we  shall  see  him  again  with  the  old  smile 
on  his  face,  having  gone  home  to  his  God,  whom  he 
loved  and  whom  he  honestly  served  on  earth  with 
uprightness  and  righteousness." 

Dr.  Buttz,  who  was  deeply  affected  by  his  personal 
loss,  spoke  of  Dr.  Eaton's  great  power  of  leadership, 
his  tender  sympathy,  and  then  of  his  relation  to 
the  community  in  which  he  lived: 

"He  entered  into  the  life  of  the  church  of  the 
community.  He  was  a  part  of  us.  His  work  was  in 
New  York,  but  his  home  and  his  thought  were  here. 
He  has  been  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  this  church  here.  Every  interest  of  the  church  and 
of  the  community  was  dear  to  his  heart,  and  now"  that 
he  has  passed  away  one  feeling  comes  over  all  the 
people,  one  feeling  of  sadness  that  the  dear  friend 
has  gone.     People  have  said  to  me,  not  'What  a  great 


H  O  i\I  E  R      EATON 19 

loss  you  have  had,'  but  'What  a  great  loss  we  have 
had.'  He  has  been  bound  to  our  community  and  to 
the  Seminary  and  to  the  church  and  our  people.  His 
home  was  directly  opposite  the  Seminary,  and  we 
always  knew  that  there  was  a  friendly  eye  looking  at 
it,  and  a  friendly  heart,  and  a  friendly  life.  I  have 
known  him  so  well,  and  I  know  the  deep  sympathies 
of  his  heart,  and  I  know  the  indebtedness  that  Drew 
has  to  him — for  fifteen  years  a  member  of  its  Board 
of  Trustees,  and  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee, ever  giving  his  time  and  his  thought  without 
measure." 

Bishop  Wilson's  brief  address  was  largely  con- 
cerned with  the  manliness  of  the  deceased.  After 
speaking  of  his  large  and  useful  contribution  to  the 
work  of  the  Church,  he  concluded: 

"I  think  it  is  a  great  way  to  go  out  of  life  as  he 
went.  Just  a  touch  of  weakness  and  a  lying  down  a 
while.  Just  a  moment's  tarrying  in  the  presence  of 
her  who  was  all  the  world  to  him.  Just  a  listening  to 
the  voice  that  was  of  all  the  voices  of  the  earth  most 
musical  to  him.  Just  a  word  to  show  that  the  mind 
and  heart  were  still  awake  and  listening  for  the  growth 
of  the  Kingdom — and  then  in  a  moment  the  closing 
of  the  eyes  and  the  closing  of  the  ears,  shutting  out 
the  beauty  and  the  music.  And  then  the  awakening 
again,  after  that  moment  of  the  closed  eyes  and  the 
stopped  ear,  the  rising  again  to  hear  those  diviner 
symphonies  and  to  look  upon  those  greater  and 
eternal  glories.  I  would  to  God  that  the  spirit  of  this 
man  might  come  upon  all  the  Church — a  record  for 
the   inspiration    of   those   who   knew    him.      We   will 


20 HOMER      EATON 

count  it  as  one  of  the  glories  of  that  other  land  that  he 
is  there,  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  of  that  great 
fellowship  to  which  the  Church  on  earth  is  adding 
one  and  another  of  the  saintly  lives.  The  glory  of 
that  land  will  be  the  greater  because  you  and  I  be- 
lieve we  shall,  through  the  simplicity  of  faith,  through 
the  abundance  of  God's  grace,  be  privileged  to  meet 
that  knightly  soul  again." 

The  closing  prayer,  invoking  from  the  Eternal 
Father  blessings  and  comfort  for  the  company  of 
friends,  and  especially  the  bereaved  wife,  who  had  lived 
more  than  fifty  years  beside  the  one  whom  they  had 
assembled  to  honor,  was  offered  by  Dr.  Ezra  S.  Tipple, 
President  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 

At  the  Book  Room  for  the  Last  Tune 

Dr.  Eaton  had  said  that  he  would  surely  be  at 
the  Book  Concern  this  week,  and  the  promise  was 
sadly  fulfilled  when  his  body  was  brought  to  New  York 
and  placed  in  the  chapel  on  the  third  floor  of  The 
Methodist  Book  Concern  on  Wednesday  evening, 
where  the  following  trusted  employees  of  the  house 
watched  by  it  lovingly  through  the  night:  William 
Graham,  Albert  Smyth,  Julius  Heims,  Charles  W. 
Lewis,  E.  E.  Clawson,  Herman  C.  Voss,  Richard 
Wegener,  and  J.  R.  Hewlett. 

The  Book  Concern  flag  was  at  half-mast  on 
Thursday  and  a  black-bordered  sign  at  the  entrance 
announced  the  cessation  of  business  until  one  o'clock. 
At  ten  the  chapel  was  filled  with  representatives  of 
the  workers  in  the  building  and  of  the  many  boards 
with  which  Dr.  Eaton  had  been  connected. 


HOMER      EATON n 

The  platform  was  filled  with  official  persons. 
The  massive  rosewood  casket  was  banked  in  with 
flowers,  conspicuous  among  them  a  map  of  the  mis- 
sion lands  done  in  white  and  red  carnations.  The 
bearers  were  six  men  from  the  manufacturing,  sales, 
and  accounting  departments:  William  H.  Warner, 
Albert  Smyth,  John  R.  Hewlett,  William  Wilson, 
Herman  C.  Voss,  and  Jacob  A.  Wirth. 

Dr.  E.  S.  Tipple,  who  was  in  charge,  opened  the 
simple  service  with  the  Scripture  sentences.  Dr.  H.  C. 
Jennings  followed  with  prayer,  after  which  all  sang 
"My  faith  looks  up  to  Thee."  Dr.  A.  B.  Leonard 
read  the  Old  Testament  lesson  and  Dr.  H.  A.  Buttz 
read  the  New  Testament  lesson.  President  Tipple 
read  some  of  the  many  messages  which  had  been  re- 
ceived, including  those  from  the  Kansas  City  Deposi- 
tory, Bishop  Walden,  Dr.  Robert  T.  Miller,  the 
resolutions  of  the  New  York  Preachers'  Meeting  and 
of  the  Drew  Seminary  officers  and  students.  Bishop 
Wilson,  who  made  the  first  address,  emphasized  the 
symmetry  and  beauty  of  Dr.  Eaton's  character,  and 
from  the  lesson  of  this  life  exhorted  his  hearers  to  give 
the  Church  and  the  service  of  Christ  the  first  place  in 
their  lives. 

Dr.  F.  M.  North,  representing  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions,  spoke  of  the  name  of  Homer  Eaton, 
a  "good"  name  on  business  paper  in  every  banking 
house  on  the  globe.  He  praised  him  as  treasurer  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  who  sometimes  intrusted  "his 
duties"  to  subordinates,  but  who  never  forgot  "his 
duty"  to  his  office.  This  treasurer  was  no  mere  cus- 
todian of  funds;  he  was  a  personality  of  broad  horizon. 


22 H  O  INI  E  R      EATON 

who  was  interested  in  his  accounts  because  he  beheved 
in  what  the  money  would  accomplish. 

Dr.  George  P.  Mains  prefaced  his  remarks  by 
reading  a  resolution  which  had  been  adopted  on 
Tuesday  at  a  mass  meeting  of  the  employees  in  manu- 
facturing, editorial,  and  missionary  departments  of  the 
building.  Speaking  of  his  own  intimate  relations  with 
Dr.  Eaton  for  seventeen  years,  he  said  that  though  they 
had  not  always  been  able  to  see  all  questions  as  one, 
they  had  never  had  a  rupture  or  a  serious  difference. 
Dr.  Eaton  was  for  fifty-six  years  in  the  service  of  the 
Church,  a  service  for  which  he  was  fitted  by  gifts, 
purpose,  and  consecration.  Despite  a  large  fund  of 
native  humor,  he  could  be  on  occasion  grave  enough, 
and  was  never  lacking  in  balance,  sanity,  and  states- 
manlike grasp.  Such  was  his  capacity  for  bringing 
men  into  line  with  his  purposes  that  he  would  have 
been  a  power  in  the  Senate  had  he  entered  the  political 
field.  His  high  talent  for  friendship  was  characterized 
by  intense  loyalty,  like  that  of  U.  S.  Grant  for  his 
friends.  In  conclusion  Dr.  Mains  alluded  to  Dr. 
Eaton's  loving  wife  and  home  and  sketched  with 
pathetic  simplicity  the  circumstances  of  his  final 
hours. 

Bishop  Joseph  F.  Berry  offered  a  brief  prayer, 
after  which  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Dr. 
John  L.  Fort. 

The  remains  were  taken  from  the  Book  Concern 
building  to  the  Grand  Central  Station,  and  thence  to 
Albany. 

Some  thirty  of  the  Methodist  ministers  of  Albany 
and  Troy  met  the  funeral  party  at  the  Union  railroad 


HOMER      EATON ^ 

depot  at  Albany,  and,  with  the  superintendents  of 
the  Albany,  Troy,  Burlington,  and  Saratoga  Dis- 
tricts, accompanied  them  to  the  Albany  Rural  Ceme- 
tery. There  the  casket  was  opened  and  the  preachers 
looked  for  the  last  time  here  on  the  face  of  their 
translated  brother.  They  sang  together  "The  sweet 
bye  and  bye,"  Dr.  John  H.  Coleman  offered  prayer, 
and  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Dr.  E.  P. 
Stevens. 

— From  The  Christian  Advocate,  February  19,  1913. 


THE  Troy  Conference,  of  which  Dr.  Eaton  was  an 
honored  member  for  fifty-six  years,  the  first  day 
of  its  annual  session,  April  9,  1913,  held  a 
memorial  service  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Albany  Rural 
Cemetery,  at  which  addresses  were  made  by  Bishop 
Luther  B.  Wilson  and  Rev.  W.  H.  Hughes,  D.D.,  and 
the  final  interment  of  the  body  of  Dr.  Eaton  took 
place. 


ADDRESSES  AT  THE  FUNERAL 
SERVICES 


IN  MEMORIAM:  REV.  HOMER  EATON, 
D.D.,  LL.D. 

BY  HENRY  ANSON  BUTTZ,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

WE  are  here  to-day  under  the  shadow  of  a 
great  sorrow.  A  devoted  husband,  a  gentle 
spirit,  a  faithful  friend,  a  prince  and  a 
great  man  has  fallen  in  our  Israel.  The  sudden  calling 
away  of  Dr.  Eaton  has  caused  universal  sorrow 
throughout  the  Church;  wherever  the  news  has  gone 
they  have  felt  the  greatness  of  the  loss. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  great  in  the  breadth  of  his  service 
to  the  Church.  To  few  men  has  been  given  such  an 
extended  and  so  broad  an  experience.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Concord  Biblical  Institute;  he  entered  the 
ministry  in  the  Troy  Conference,  of  which  he  re- 
mained a  beloved  and  honored  member  until  his 
death.  He  occupied  a  high  position  as  a  preacher 
and  pastor  and  was  for  many  years  Presiding  Elder. 
From  this  he  was  called  to  the  great  publishing  in- 
terests of  the  Church,  in  which  he  won  marked  success, 
of  which  others  will  speak.  In  every  position  to  which 
he  was  called  he  was  eminently  successful.  Fidelity 
to  duty  was  everywhere  apparent  in  his  life  and  labor. 
Dr.  Eaton  was  a  leader  of  men.  Almost  unconsciously 
people  yielded  to  his  views  and  were  guided  by  him. 
He  was  wise  in  council  and  carefully  considered  every 
subject  which  was  brought  before  him  in  all  its  bear- 
ings. He  was  cool  in  judgment,  reaching  his  con- 
clusion by  the  clear  processes  of  thought  and  not  by 


28 HOMER      EATON 

impulse.  His  judgment  could  be  trusted.  He  was 
decisive  in  action.  When  he  had  reached  conclusions 
he  followed  them  to  their  logical  results. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  great  in  the  depth  of  his  sympa- 
thies. What  a  tender  heart  he  had!  How  he  welcomed 
those  who  sought  his  counsel  and  help !  Who  can  think 
of  Homer  Eaton  except  as  a  friend  and  brother?  I 
have  been  permitted  to  know  him  intimately  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  as  a  dear  friend.  When 
he  came  to  Madison  he  built  his  house  just  opposite 
the  Seminary,  where  he  could  look  upon  us  and  we 
could  look  upon  him,  and  we  knew  that  he  was  ever 
looking  upon  us  with  a  kindly  eye.  He  became  a  Trus- 
tee of  Drew  Theological  Seminary  and  a  member  of 
the  Executive  Committee,  and  was  ever  ready  with 
his  counsel  and  his  help.  I  may  not  speak  at  length 
of  his  services  to  Drew  Theological  Seminary.  They 
have  been  very  great,  and  the  Seminary  owes  him  a 
debt  of  gratitude  for  his  long  and  faithful  serv- 
ice, which  did  not  cease  until  his  death.  Dr.  Eaton 
was  sympathetic  with  this  community,  in  which  he 
was  so  long  a  resident.  When  he  came  he  identified 
himself  with  the  interests  of  the  Church  and  was 
ever  faithful  to  it.  He  was  the  President  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees,  and  all  the  people  of  the  Church  felt 
that  they  had  in  him  a  friend  and  brother  who  sympa- 
thized with  the  church  in  its  movements  for  the 
salvation  of  men.  Our  community,  as  well  as  the 
Church,  mourns  his  loss  and  will  greatly  miss  him. 

He  was  firm  in  the  faith  of  the  Gospel.  The 
hymn  which  would  well  apply  to  him  is  that  which 
begins  with  the  words,   "How  firm  a  foundation,  ye 


HOMER      EATON 29 

saints  of  the  Lord."  Of  the  beautiful  home  relations 
I  may  'not  speak.  The  sacredness  is  beyond  any 
words  of  mine.  His  devotion  to  her  who  has  been  his 
helpmate  and  support  through  the  long  years  of  their 
married  life,  and  her  faith  and  devotion  to  him,  are  a 
part  of  the  beautiful  home  life  which  belongs  to  the 
true  Christian  family  in  its  highest  and  noblest  form. 
The  sympathy  of  the  Church  goes  out  to  her  in  this 
sad  hour.  I  may  not  speak  of  the  personal  sadness 
which  comes  to  me  in  the  death  of  my  neighbor  and 
friend.  On  Sunday  evening  I  had  been  reading  a 
sermon  of  Saint  Chrysostom  on  the  text,  "I  would 
not  have  you  to  be  ignorant,  brethren,  concerning 
them  who  are  asleep,  that  ye  sorrow  not  as  others  who 
have  no  hope,"  when  the  news  came  of  his  death.  It 
was  a  sad  blow  to  my  heart,  but  the  text  was  full  of 
hope.  We  sorrow,  but  with  the  hope  full  of  immor- 
tality. There  is  light  beyond  in  this  time  of  our 
sorrow.  There  is  light  for  the  Church,  light  for  the 
stricken  home.  There  is  the  unfading  light  of  the 
eternal  city  into  which  he  has  gone. 

A  MAN  AMONG   MEN 

BY  PROFESSOR  ROBERT  W.  ROGERS,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

IT  is  not  for  me,  but  for  some  of  those  who  stand 
highest  in  the  Church,  in  her  work  and  her 
councils,  to  have  the  sad  and  solemn  honor  of 
burying  this  distinguished  son  of  the  Church.  But  I 
should  do  scant  credit  to  my  heart,  and  very  little  to 
my  mind,  if  I  did  not  venture  to  speak  a  word  of  warm 
and  enthusiastic  praise  of  him,  and  make  no  apology 


30 H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 

for  the  doing  of  it.  There  has  gone  out  from  among 
us  a  man,  the  very  figure  and  sight  of  whom  will  never 
grow  less  in  the  inner  eye  of  the  mind  of  those  who 
have  been  watching  him  during  these  years.  What  a 
handsome  man  he  was!  towering  above  his  fellows,  of 
noble  stature,  dignified  in  every  movement  of  his 
body,  needing  not  to  imitate  and  cultivate  dignity  as 
lesser  men  might  have  done!  And  that  body  of  his 
crowned  by  that  noble  head,  with  a  profile  that  would 
have  honored  any  bronze  medal  anywhere!  And  what 
a  face  it  was,  lighted  with  a  smile,  or  solemn  and 
earnest  when  he  was  performing  some  great  thing! 
And  what  a  voice  he  had!  I  used  often  to  compare  it 
to  a  great  organ  of  which  he  drew  out  one  stop  after 
another,  and  he  would  laugh  good-naturedly  at  the 
simile.  I  loved  to  hear  him  when  he  preached,  and 
can  still  feel  the  vibrant  music  of  his  voice. 

He  was  a  man  among  men.  Many  a  time  have  I 
watched  him  at  our  receptions  here  and  at  other 
places.  It  was  men  that  crowded  around  him  and 
w^ere  dominated  by  him.  Some  men  have  the  grace 
and  the  elegance  and  a  certain  refinement  of  manner 
that  enables  them  to  appeal  to  women.  But  here 
was  a  man  whom  men  willingly  and  gladly  went 
after,  and  were  eager  to  talk  to,  eager  to  be  influenced 
by,  a  man  among  men ! 

I  think  when  the  record  is  all  added  up  by  the 
people  who  know  it  all  from  the  beginning  to  the  end, 
it  will  seem  more  and  more  sure  that  he  was  a  great 
man  in  his  ability.  When  he  undertook  a  thing,  he 
had  a  way  of  carrying  it  through  that  set  the  work 
that  seemed  heavy  to  other  men  lightly  on  its  way. 


H  O  :M  E  R      EATON 31 

He  showed  that  in  the  early  days  in  the  work  that  he 
did  in  the  churches  in  which  he  was  pastor.  He  told 
me  about  the  way  he  had  once  administered  a  delicate 
little  situation  when  he  was  a  presiding  elder,  and  I 
have  often  used  it  as  a  little  caution  and  example  to 
the  students. 

But,  of  course,  the  crown  of  his  life  was  the 
great  publishing  work,  in  which  he  took  such  splendid 
pride,  in  the  service  of  the  Church.  It  will  be  made 
known  by  those  who  have  had  better  opportunity,  all 
that  he  did  in  those  wonderful  years.  Of  course,  he 
was  very  happy  in  his  associations  with  the  men 
there  and  in  the  men  who  represented  the  other  side 
of  that  enterprise,  and  it  is  their  pride  to-day  to  ac- 
know^ledge  that  he  had  an  easy  strength  and  leadership 
w^hich  they  were  glad  to  see  applied  to  the  work  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

It  is  a  loss,  and  a  big  one,  and  nothing  will  make 
it  seem  light.  We  who  lived  so  near  him  here,  and 
not  only  admired  him,  but  honestly  loved  him,  will 
miss  him.  I  cannot  but  wish  that  it  might  have  been 
different,  that  he  might  have  been  able  to  stop  the 
work  and  rest  in  the  evening  of  life.  It  would  have 
been  a  very  goodly  sight  to  see  him  seated  at  rest 
on  his  front  porch,  set  free  from  his  labors.  But  it  was 
not  so  to  be.  The  only  and  best  hope  for  all  of  us  is 
that  some  day  we  shall  see  him  again  with  the  old 
smile  on  his  face,  having  gone  home  to  his  God  whom 
he  loved  and  whom  he  honestly  served  with  a  life  of 
uprightness.  And  if  we  can  see  him  again,  it  will  be 
worth  while.  This  we  have  to  look  forward  to  with 
thanks  to  God  for  his  life  and  thanks  that  it  was  our 


32 HOMER      EATON 

high  privilege  to  have  walked  with  him  and  to  have 
touched  his  hand  and  felt  his  smile  and  realized  the 
tenderness  of  his  heart.  May  God  give  us  peace  in  our 
time  of  departure,  even  as  he  gave  him. 

HOMER  EATON 

BY    FRANK   MASON    NORTH,  D.D. 

Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board   of  Foreign  Missions 

FOR  this  brief  characterization  one  might  well 
covet  Homer  Eaton's  own  striking  power  of 
sententious  expression.  How  vivid  he  is  to  us — 
in  his  dignity,  his  humor,  his  wisdom,  his  gentleness, 
his  strength! 

His  was  a  memorable  name.  "A  good  name  is 
rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches."  It  is  no 
wresting  of  Scripture,  no  play  upon  words,  to  say 
that  the  name  of  Homer  Eaton  was  good.  It  has 
backed  commercial  paper  to  the  outer  limits  of  a 
great  credit,  and  has  been  for  a  score  of  years  a  familiar 
sign  of  value  in  the  leading  banking  institutions  of  this 
metropolis.  It  has  passed  under  the  eye  of  traders 
and  financiers  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  among 
peoples  of  every  hue  and  language,  and  it  has  never 
been  challenged.  The  splendid  credit  of  a  great 
Society  was  under  it,  but  to-day  we  cannot  forget 
that  to  his  carefulness  and  foresight  and  unfretted 
constancy  that  credit,  in  no  small  degree,  was  due. 

Dr.  Eaton  came  into  the  office  of  treasurer  of  the 
Missionary  Society  in  1896.  The  intervening  years 
have  been  marked  by  a  wide  expansion  of  the  Society's 
enterprise    and    by    a    corresponding    increase    of    its 


HOMER      EATON 33 

financial  obligations.  In  quick  succession  have  come 
the  occilsions  for  the  display  of  those  two  fatal  quali- 
ties of  bad  financiering — a  rigid  conservatism  that 
locks  and  bolts  the  door  which  should  have  been 
pushed  ajar,  and  an  unreckoning  rashness  which 
rushes  through  doorways  which  never  should  have 
been  opened  at  all.  It  was  not  in  Homer  Eaton  to 
fail  at  either  point.  He  was  at  once  flexible  and  firm. 
By  temperament  he  ever  sought  that  larger  justice 
which  it  is  the  misfortune  of  precedent  and  conven- 
tion sometimes  to  betray.  His  was  a  strict  sense  of 
his  own  prerogative,  founded  upon  a  clear  apprecia- 
tion of  his  own  responsibility.  To  others  whom  he 
trusted  he  quite  willingly  delegated  some  of  the 
duties  of  his  office,  but  he  never  gave  up  to  another 
the  chdy  of  his  office.  It  was  his  fortune,  perhaps  it 
were  better  to  say  his  faculty,  to  have  near  him  trained 
men  who  believed  in  him,  loved  him,  reverenced  him; 
in  their  hands  his  honor  has  been  ever  safe  and  his 
confidence  has  never  been  betrayed. 

It  was  with  a  keen  and  pardonable  pride  that  he 
said,  when  negotiating  a  loan,  in  the  lean,  dry  days 
of  last  summer,  "The  treasury  handles  each  year  a 
million  and  a  half  of  dollars,  but  in  its  history  of 
nearly  a  century  it  has  never  lost  a  cent." 

But  to  this  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  Homer 
Eaton  has  given  not  only  a  name  honored  and  nego- 
tiable on  'Change;  he  has  given  a  personality.  He 
w^as  no  mere  guardian  of  funds.  He  watched  the 
money  because  of  what  he  was  convinced  the  money 
could  do.  Few  men  during  the  years  of  his  member- 
ship   in    the    Board    have    been    wiser    when    wisdom 


34 H  O  :M  E  R      EATON 

counted,  firmer  when  vacillation  meant  disaster, 
prompter  \Yhen  hasty  and  ill-advised  decisions  were 
impending,  or  more  tender  when  kindness  should  be 
pushed  beyond  mere  sympathy  that  it  might  become 
essential  justice.  To  his  natural  equipment  for  right 
thinking  was  added  the  experience  of  observation  in 
some  of  the  mission  fields.  His  intimate  relation 
with  the  broader  movements  of  the  Church  for  more 
than  a  generation  saved  him  from  the  horizons  of 
littleness.  He  was  long  contemporary  with  the  strong 
men  under  whose  vigorous  faith  the  later  policies  of 
the  Church  and  her  great  agencies  have  been  shaped. 
Many  of  these  men  he  outlived,  but  their  influence 
persisted  in  his  own  thinking.  His  catholic  spirit  and 
genial  humor  won  for  him  the  fellowship  of  many 
younger  men,  with  whom  he  was  ever  at  home — 
whose  viewpoints  he  was  quick  to  see,  even  when 
their  enthusiasms  left  him  unshaken  and  unconvinced. 
Such  a  man,  so  trained,  so  experienced,  so  hospitable, 
would  be  inevitably  an  influential  counselor  where 
world  policies  are  being  framed  and  a  pillar  in  what- 
ever temple  of  God  the  Master-builder  might  choose 
to  place  him. 

In  this  room,  in  this  presence,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  recall  those  men  whose  voices  we  have  so  often 
heard,  in  protest  against  petty  measures,  or  perilous 
tendencies,  or  in  advocacy  of  the  larger  programs  of 
the  Kingdom.  In  our  remembrance  they  stand  for 
great  outlooks  upon  the  world,  for  intense  zeal,  for 
achievement  in  the  name  of  Christ,  for  that  spirit  of 
personal  sacrifice  which  is  the  very  essence  of  the 
missionary    vocation,    for    the    faith  before    which    a 


HOMER      EATON 35 

thousand  times  mountains  have  been  leveled  or  tun- 
neled oi*  cast  into  the  depths  of  the  sea.  As  we  recall 
them,  one  and  another  and  another — we  who  in  the 
providence  of  God  are  entering  into  their  labors — well 
may  we  pray  that  for  the  newer,  the  broader,  the 
more  imperious  tasks  which  to-day  are  crowding 
toward  us,  there  may  come  upon  us  a  double  portion 
of  their  spirit. 

And  among  these  noblemen  of  the  Kingdom, 
missing  his  quiet  step  in  hallways  and  office,  reluctant 
to  let  go  the  expectation  of  greeting  him  somewhere 
on  the  morrow,  sorrowing  that  we  shall  no  more  hear 
his  rich,  wise  voice  in  our  councils,  nor  shall  read 
again  the  familiar  signature  freshly  written  by  his 
fine,  firm  hand — we  place  high  and  in  the  front  rank 
our  loved  and  revered  comrade  in  this  service  of  the 
world  and  of  its  Lord — Homer  Eaton.  iVnd  well 
assured  are  we  that  his  potent  name  is  written  in  the 
Lamb's  Book  of  Life. 

A  KNIGHTLY  SOUL 

BY  BISHOP   LUTHER  B    WILSON,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

IT  is  not  necessary  that  any  other  word  shall  be 
spoken.  I  wish  simply  to  pay  a  tribute  to  this  man 
of  God.  He  seemed  always  a  man  to  me.  The 
humanness  of  his  character  appealed  to  me.  It  is  fair  to 
say  that  there  was  as  little  pretense  in  Dr.  Eaton  as  in  any 
man  whom  we  have  known.  There  was  no  veneering 
of  intellectual  or  spiritual  trait  with  him.  I  think  that 
he  was  just  exactly  what  he  seemed  to  be.  And  be- 
cause I  felt  that  he  was  that,  he  won  my  honor,  and, 


36 HOMER      EATON 

as  Dr.  Rogers  has  said,  my  love.  The  finest  contribu- 
tion that  any  man  can  make  to  the  world  is  the  con- 
tribution of  his  character.  Dr.  Eaton  by  his  character 
was  an  inspiration  to  righteousness  and  conscientious- 
ness and  all  that  belongs  to  the  high  moralities  of  life. 
If  he  had  simply  through  the  circumstances  of  the 
ministry  and  his  official  responsibility,  worked  out  that 
character  of  his  until  his  life  was  finished,  that  would 
have  been  a  contribution  which  would  have  laid  the 
Church  and  the  State  in  indebtedness  to  him  always. 
But  in  the  working  out  of  that  character  he  accom- 
plished much,  for  there  was  no  interest  of  the  Church  or 
of  the  State  that  did  not  appeal  to  him.  The  nation 
to-day  is  celebrating  the  birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
because  of  his  friendship  for  the  lowly  and  the  op- 
pressed. We  may  recognize  Dr.  Eaton  as  a  friend  of 
the  plain,  the  common  man,  a  friend  to  the  man  who 
needed  a  friend,  and  every  man  who  needed  a  friend. 
There  was  no  interest  of  the  Church  which  did  not 
appeal  to  him.  For  how  many  years  was  he  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  for 
how  long  a  time  was  he  identified  with  that  great 
interest  that  bound  his  heart!  He  could  not  be 
interested  in  affairs  but  that  he  declared  his  friend- 
ship in  the  most  unequivocal  way.  He  was  one  of  the 
counselors  of  the  Church,  many  times  a  member  of 
the  governing  body  of  the  great  Church  to  which  he 
gave  his  life  and  pledged  his  devotion.  But  whether  in 
one  aspect  or  in  another,  whether  in  the  office  where  we 
loved  to  see  him,  or  whether  there  in  the  General  Con- 
ference, wherever  it  was  that  he  spoke,  his  ecclesiastical 
diplomacy,  I  think,  was  like  that  of  Dr.  John  Hay,  recog- 


H  O  INI  E  R      EATON 37 

nized  for  its  straightforwardness  always  and  for  its  lack 
of  that  method  that  is  sometimes  more  effective  than 
admirable. 

So  he  has  measured  out  life's  day.  It  has  been  my 
privilege  to  come  into  close  fellowship  with  him  in  the 
last  weeks  and  months,  and  I  am  glad  to  feel  to-day  from 
the  assurance  of  the  very  last  words  that  he  spoke  to 
me  how^  the  friendships  of  life  still  gripped  him.  It  is 
a  great  way  to  go  out  of  life  as  he  went.  Just  a  touch 
of  weakness  and  a  lying  down  a  while;  just  a  moment's 
tarrying  in  the  presence  of  her  who  was  all  the  world 
to  him;  just  a  listening  to  the  voice  that  was  of  all  the 
voices  of  the  earth  most  musical  to  him;  just  a  word 
to  show  that  the  mind  and  heart  were  still  awake  and 
listening  for  news  of  the  growth  of  the  kingdom;  and 
then  in  a  moment  the  closing  of  the  eyes  and  the  clos- 
ing of  the  ears,  shutting  out  the  beauty  and  the  music, 
and  then — I  think  all  of  us  must  agree — the  awakening 
again  after  that  moment  of  the  closed  eyes  and  the 
stopped  ear,  the  rising  again  to  hear  those  diviner 
symphonies  and  to  look  upon  those  greater  and  eternal 
glories. 

To-day  he  is  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  of 
that  great  fellowship  to  which  the  Church  on  earth  is 
adding  one  and  another  of  the  saintly  lives.  The  glory 
of  that  land  will  be  the  greater  because  you  and  I, 
please  God,  shall  through  the  simplicity  of  faith,  and 
the  abundance  of  God's  great  grace,  be  privileged  to 
meet  that  knightly  soul  again. 


TELEGRAMS 


Miami,  Florida,  February  10,  1913. 

Ezra  B.  Tuttle,  Chairman, 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Necessary  absence  here  makes  it  impossible  for 
me  to  reach  Madison  for  Dr.  Eaton's  funeral.  With 
your  colleagues  of  New  York  Local  Committee  please 
represent  Book  Committee. 

The  whole  Church  will  miss  Homer  Eaton.  How 
much  we  owe  to  his  long  service!  A  secular  business 
would  have  paid  many  thousands  annually  for  what 
he  accomplished.  Many  a  veteran's  home  has  been 
made  comfortable  because  he  was  faithful.  He  helped 
give  us  a  great  literature  and  has  indelibly  stamped 
his  impress  upon  his  loved  Book  Concern. 

In  devotion,  candor,  and  fidelity  he  was  an  example 
to  all  in  official  life!  Enriching  the  treasury  of  his 
Church  through  his  business  sagacity  and  persistent 
labors,  he  lived  simply  and  gave  himself  without  re- 
serve to  the  cause  he  served.  How  we  all  loved  him — 
stalwart  that  he  was  in  body,  mind,  and  soul.  A  very 
man  has  left  us! 

John  A.  Patten. 


42  HOMER      EATON 


Rev.  Dr.  E.  S.  Tipple, 

Madison,  New  Jersey. 

Henceforth,  in  the  recorded  life  and  activities  of 
our  Church,  there  will  be  a  large  and  distinctly  vacant 
place,  where  for  half  a  century  heretofore  the  name 
of  Homer  Eaton  has  appeared  as  pastor,  publishing 
agent,  missionary  treasurer,  committeeman,  fraternal 
delegate,  and  in  other  positions  of  high  official  re- 
sponsibility and  dignity  to  which  he  has  been  re- 
peatedly appointed  and  in  which  he  has  rendered 
valuable  and  distinguished  service.  Few  of  the  Church 
but  knew  him,  fewer  but  honored  him,  and  fewer  still 
but  will  hold  in  faithful  and  grateful  remembrance  so 
honorable  a  service  and  name.  Sturdy,  steadfast,  and 
serene  even  in  sessions  of  stormy  debate,  "with  malice 
toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,"  he  held  his  course 
true,  conscious  of  no  obligation  superior  to  that  he 
owed  to  conscience  and  duty. 

Robert  T.  Miller. 


RESOLUTIONS 


LOCAL  COMiMITTEE  AT  CINCINNATI 

WITH  peculiar  sorrow  and  distress  the  Local 
Coniinittee  at  Cincinnati  records  the  death 
of  Rev.  Homer  Eaton,  D.D.,  the  General 
Agent  of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  but  with 
equal  pride  and  gratitude  also  records  this  tribute  in 
memory  of  the  conspicuous  service  he  has  rendered 
the  jNIethodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  chief  councils 
of  which  he  had  taken  a  large  and  helpful  part  as 
Pastor,  Presiding  Elder,  Annual  and  General  Con- 
ference Official,  Commissioner,  Fraternal  Delegate — 
and  finally  and  more  especially  as  a  Member  and  as 
Chairman  of  the  Book  Committee,  from  which  he  was 
chosen  as  Publishing  Agent  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  in  this  served  continuously  from 
1889  till  his  death  on  February  9,  1913. 

Li  these  several  positions  of  high  duty  and  honor 
he  distinguished  himself  by  faithful  service,  of  which 
the  Church  showed  its  appreciation  by  repeatedly  re- 
electing him  to  many  of  these  positions — till  finally 
he  has  passed  away — literally  dying  in  the  harness. 

He  has  left  not  only  an  enviable  record  of  great 
usefulness,  but  of  great  success,  and  has  left  also  a 
memory  of  high  personal  and  moral  dignity  in  official 
life — w^hich  all  must  acknowledge  to  be  the  noblest 
and  most  honorable  heritage  man  can  leave  to  his 
successors  in  the  mission  of  life. 

We  join  in  the  general  sorrow  of  the  Church  at 
his  departure,  and  most  sincerely  tender  our  sympa- 


46 H  O  ]\I  E  R      EATON 

thies  to  the  circle  of  immediate  friends,  and  especially 
do  our  hearts  share  in  the  great  sorrow  which  has  so 
suddenly  come  upon  the  wife  whom  he  leaves  in  lone- 
liness and  bereavement.  May  God  comfort  her  as  no 
earthly  friend  can  do,  and  supply  her  abundantly 
Avith  the  all-sufficient  grace  of  the  presence  of  His 
Holy  Spirit. 


LOCAL  COMMITTEE  AT  NEW  YORK 

THE  Local  Committee  at  New  York  would  make 
grateful  record  of  the  distinguished  services  of 
the  Reverend  Homer  Eaton,  D.D.,  LL.D.,from 
1889  to  1912  as  one  of  the  Publishing  Agents  of  The 
Methodist  Book  Concern  at  New  York,  and  since 
May,  1912,  General  Agent  of  The  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  with  headquarters  at  New  York  City.  For 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  a  period  of  service 
longer  than  that  of  any  other  Agent,  Doctor  Eaton  has 
been  intimately  connected  with  the  publishing  interests 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  this  branch 
of  the  Church's  activities  has  given  his  undivided 
attention  and  his  abundant  strength.  His  labors  and 
successes  need  not  be  enumerated  here,  inasmuch  as 
the  Book  Committee  at  its  coming  session  will  do  this, 
but  we  desire  to  bear  witness  to  the  very  cordial  rela- 
tions which  always  existed  between  Doctor  Eaton  and 
this  Committee,  to  his  unmeasured  devotion  to  the 
work  committed  to  him  by  the  Church,  and  to  our 
sense  of  loss  and  sorrow  at  his  death. 


HOMER      EATON  47 


DREW  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

11HE  REVEREND  HOMER  EATON,  D.D.,LL.D., 
for  over  twenty  years  a  resident  of  Madison, 
New  Jersey,  and  neighbor  of  Drew  Theological 
Seminary,  has  for  the  last  fifteen  years  been  a  member 
of  her  Board  of  Trustees.  In  this  position  Dr.  Eaton 
has  come  into  a  relation  to  the  entire  life  of  the  school 
at  once  unique  and  intimate.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Eaton 
took  up  their  residence  in  Madison  after  many  years 
in  the  itinerancy  and  much  thought  as  to  the  locality 
in  which  they  should  make  their  permanent  earthly 
home.  They  selected  a  beautiful  spot  directly  facing 
the  property  of  the  Seminary  on  Madison  Avenue, 
and  there  built  their  stately  house,  not  without  refer- 
ence to  the  life  and  atmosphere  of  Drew  Forest. 
During  all  this  period  Dr.  Eaton  has  been  Agent  of 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  so  that  he  has  been 
a  factor,  perhaps  the  chief  factor,  in  the  literary 
interests  of  the  Church.  He  has  also  been  prominent 
on  the  other  Boards  of  Church  administration,  notably 
the  missionary,  dispensing  as  its  treasurer  between  one 
and  two  millions  of  dollars  annually.  Moreover,  his 
world-wide  activities  and  travels  have  been  linked  in 
a  peculiarly  intimate  way  with  the  activities  and 
world-wide  influence  of  one  of  the  centers  of  thought 
and  power  of  the  Ecumenical  Church.  Thus  Dr. 
Eaton's  residence  among  us  has  meant  vastly  more  to 
the  Seminary  than  we  can  easily  estimate,  or  shall 
now  attempt.     But,   above  and  beyond   all  this,   we 


48 HOMER      EAT  0  X 

have  come  to  treasure  the  friendship  and  fellowship 
of  Dr.  Eaton  because  of  the  sterling  quality  and 
character  of  his  own  personality. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  a  large  man,  a  man  of  large  mind 
and  vision  and  heart.  He  was  a  generous  man,  with 
ample  ideas,  and  marked  ability  to  express  them,  and 
a  life-long  habit  in  sharing  and  extending  them;  for  he 
w^as  a  born  leader,  and  was  recognized  everywhere  for 
his  sagacity  and  charm  in  molding  and  moving  the 
choices  of  his  fellow  men. 

And  now  our  father,  full  of  years  and  of  honors, 
our  brother,  full  of  trophies  from  all  fields,  and  our 
friend,  full  of  affections  and  sympathies  from  ever- 
widening  circles,  has  fallen  on  sleep,  and  we  shall  see 
his  face  in  Drew  no  more.  Our  familiar  and  our  more 
formal  gatherings  shall  no  longer  find  easy  focus  and 
converse  about  his  martial  form.  But  he  is  still  living, 
and  shall  live  in  our  hearts,  and  evermore  shall  his 
spirit  and  influence  remain  a  vital  factor  in  our  school. 

We  share  with  the  wife  of  his  bosom  the  deep 
sorrow  that  his  departure  brings,  and  we  share  with 
her  and  with  the  whole  connnunity  and  with  the 
Christian  world  the  splendid  heritage  of  his  great  love 
and  his  great  life. 

Minute   adopted   by   the   Faculty    and   Students   of 
Drew  Theological  Seminary,  February  12,  1913. 


H  O  INI  E  R      EATON  49 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED   BY  THE    ExM- 

PLOYEES     OF     THE     .AlETHODIST 

BOOK  CONCERN  AT  NEW  YORK 

AT  a  largely  attended  meeting  of  the  employees  of 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  of  representatives 
of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  and  of  other 
benevolent  societies  with  headquarters  in  the  building, 
held  at  1 :00  o'clock  P.M.,  Tuesday,  February  11th,  the 
following  paper  was  unanimously  adopted  as  representing 
the  common  interest  felt  in  the  decease  of  Doctor  Eaton: 
In  the  death  of  Reverend  Homer  Eaton,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  one  who  for  a  longer  term  of  years  than  any 
other  in  its  entire  history  has  been  an  Official  Publisher 
of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  and  its  first  General 
Agent,  we  keenly  realize  that  we  have  all  lost  a  friend 
and  brother,  and  recognizing  that  The  Methodist  Book 
Concern  is  bereaved  of  one  of  its  most  conspicuous 
Official  Agents,  that  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  is 
deprived  of  one  who  has  been  one  of  its  most  prominent 
members,  and  who  has  long  and  reliably  served  as  the 
Treasurer  of  its  funds,  and  that  the  Church  at  large 
has  been  called  upon  to  part  with  one  of  its  most 
honored  and  trusted  counselors: — 

We  desire  to  put  on  record  an  expression  of  the  sense 
of  loss,  of  the  high  esteem,  and  of  the  affectionate  regard 
in  which  we  shall  hold  the  memory  of  a  good  and  noble 
man  who  has  gone  from  our  presence.  And  also  to  ex- 
press to  Mrs.  Eaton  at  this  time  of  her  bereavement  and 
sorrow  the  assurance  of  our  deep  and  heartfelt  sympathy. 


FROM  THE  ADVOCATES 


THE  TRANSLATION  OF   HOMER  EATON 

THE  NEW  YORK  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE 

THE  evening  shadows  of  a  beautiful  Sabbath 
having  closed  round  his  dwelling,  Homer  Eaton 
responded  to  the  summons  of  his  Lord,  and 
quietly  slipped  away  from  a  world  he  had  striven  to 
make  better  by  loyal  service.  That  he  has  entered 
into  the  day  which  shall  never  decline  no  one  doubts 
who  knew  his  faith  and  practice.  He  was  born  in 
Enosburg,  Vt.,  November  16, 1834.  His  father,  Bennett 
Eaton,  was  a  local  preacher,  and  regularly  supplied  pas- 
toral charges  within  convenient  reach  of  his  farm,  until 
he  joined  the  Troy  Conference  in  1850.  He  was  later 
for  a  brief  time  a  member  of  the  Vermont  Conference. 
The  mother  of  Homer  Eaton  was  Betsey  Maria  Web- 
ster, whose  family  originally  came  from  Warwickshire, 
England,  and  included  Noah  Webster,  the  lexicographer. 
She  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  ability,  and  Hved  to 
be  more  than  ninety  years  of  age. 

Homer  Eaton  began  his  preparatory  studies  at  the 
Academy  in  Bakersfield,  Vt.,  and  finished  them  at  the 
Methodist  General  Biblical  Institute  in  Concord,  N.  H. 
In  1857  he  entered  Troy  Conference,  where  he  served 
the  following  appointments:  1857,  Vail  Avenue,  Troy, 
N.  Y.;  '58-'59,  Castleton;  'GO-'Ol,  Fultonville;  '6^2-'63, 
Fort  Plain;  '64-'66,  Greenbush;  'G7-'68,  Amsterdam; 
'69-'71,  Washington  Street,  West  Troy;  '72-'74,  Grace, 
Albany;  '75,  Canajoharie;  '7G-'79,  Presiding  Elder, 
Albany    District;    '80-'81,    Saratoga    Springs;    '82-'84, 


54 HOMER      EATON 

Presiding  Elder,  Cambridge  District;  '86-'88,  Burling- 
ton, Vt.  On  April  28,  1858,  he  married  Miss  Hannah 
Saxe,  of  Sheldon,  Vt.  Since  February,  1889,  he  had 
been  one  of  the  publishing  agents  of  The  Methodist 
Book  Concern  in  New  York.  The  General  Conference 
of  1912  having  determined  to  elect  four  Publishing 
Agents  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  Book  Concern, 
one  of  whom  should  be  designated  as  the  General 
Agent,  Dr.  Eaton  was  chosen  to  fill  this  office. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  a  member  of  ten  General  Confer- 
ences, first  in  1872,  and  then  continuous!}^  from  1880 
to  1912.  In  1881  and  1901  he  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Ecumenical  Methodist  Conference  in  London,  and  he 
was  fraternal  delegate  to  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada  in  1874.  He  was 
a  trustee  of  Syracuse  University  and  of  Drew  Theolog- 
ical Seminary,  and  took  an  active  interest  in  these 
and  other  institutions.  From  1880  to  1888  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Book  Committee.  He  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Syracuse  University 
in  1879  and  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  that 
institution  in  1907  and  from  Nebraska  Wesleyan 
University  in  1909.  He  had  been  Treasurer  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  since  1896. 

Human  ingenuity  has  succeeded  in  reproducing  by 
a  system  of  notation  the  musical  values  of  various 
natural  objects  so  that  they  can  be  apprehended  by 
both  eye  and  ear.  For  example,  "every  tree,  according 
to  its  foliage,  its  position,  and  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  has  its  own  prevalent  note  or  tone,  which 
can  be  marked  down  and  its  timbre  made  first  visible 
by  this  notation,  and  then  audible."     Every  person- 


HOMER      EATON 55^ 

ality  has  also  its  own  characteristic  tone,  so  that  by 
a  spiritual  sense  it  is  possible  for  us  to  distinguish 
the  fundamental  quality  of  any  character.  Each 
man's  life  conveys  certain  impressions  which  are 
common  to  all  who  observe  him.  It  is  only  those 
who  are  most  intimately  associated  with  him,  how- 
ever, who  distinguish  the  more  delicate  refinements 
of  his  nature.  These  principles  are  apparent  when 
we  attempt  to  estimate  the  character  of  Homer  Eaton. 
Only  those  who  shared  his  inmost  life  can  speak 
adequately  of  his  finer  spiritual  essence.  All  who 
were  thrown  into  association  with  him  immediately 
recognized  the  bolder  features  of  his  noble  personality. 
No  man  ever  met  Homer  Eaton  in  the  most 
casual  w^ay  without  being  impressed  that  he  was  a 
man  of  extraordinary  power.  The  dignified  placidity 
of  his  face,  the  calm  and  steady  look  of  his  eye,  the 
masterful  pose  of  his  body,  and  the  deliberate  mode 
of  his  speech,  together  with  the  measured  judgment 
with  which  he  expressed  his  opinions,  would  convince 
any  reflecting  person  that  he  was  a  man  of  strong 
will  and  keen  intellect.  He  was  not  a  man  given  to 
unnecessary  speech.  Though  a  conspicuous  figure  in 
the  councils  of  the  Church  for  nearly  a  half  century, 
he  was  not  accustomed  to  indulge  in  prolonged  or 
frequent  debate.  Particularly  was  this  true  of  his 
later  years.  Those  who  served  with  him  in  various 
ofiicial  capacities  will  remember  that  apparently  he 
uttered  his  speeches  during  a  public  discussion  at 
the  precise  point  where  they  would  accomplish  the 
greatest  result  with  the  least  consumption  of  time. 
Often  he  would  seem  to  wait  until  the  involved  cir- 


56 H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 

cumstances  of  the  case  required  a  cool  l)iit  intrepid 
analysis.  He  would  then  quickly  solve  the  problem 
by  a  few  well-considered  sentences,  to  the  relief  of 
many  who  had  not  so  clearly  discerned  a  way  out 
of  the  difficulty. 

It  was  largely  due  to  his  intellectual  equipment, 
sustained  by  a  moral  character  of  singular  purity  and 
simplicity,  that  he  was  summoned  to  the  responsible 
position  of  Book  Agent,  which  was  left  vacant  by  the 
death  of  John  M.  Phillips  in  1889.  The  enormous 
business  of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern  requires 
greater  managerial  abilities  than  most  institutions  of 
its  sort,  and  it  is  only  truth  to  say  that  Dr.  Eaton's 
work  during  the  past  twenty-four  years  in  this  great 
undertaking  has  shown  both  sagacity  and  foresight 
to  an  unusual  degree.  As  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  his  work  has  been  of  the  highest 
value  and  his  appreciation  of  the  missionary  problems 
has  been  keen  and  sympathetic. 

It  would  not  be  strange  if  a  man  charged  with 
such  vast  obligations  should  become  so  absorbed  in 
the  magnitude  of  his  work  as  to  be  detached  from  a 
personal  interest  in  the  great  body  of  men  under 
his  employ,  but  it  is  the  testimony  of  those  who  have 
been  in  The  Methodist  Book  Concern  since  the  day 
Homer  Eaton  appeared  that  he  always  gave  earnest 
and  sympathetic  attention  to  the  problems  and  diffi- 
culties of  the  men  associated  together  under  his  di- 
rection. Dr.  Eaton  was  the  personification  of  kindness. 
This  made  his  friendship  a  very  costly  thing  to  him  in 
some  instances;  but  he  never  scrupled  to  sacrifice  his  time 
and  energy  in  behalf  of  one  whom  he  desired  to  assist. 


H  O  M  E  H      EATON  57 


In  the  days  when  he  was  a  presiding  elder  he 
did  much  to  strengthen  the  financial  support  given 
to  the  preachers  under  his  supervision,  but  he  was 
equally  assiduous  in  his  attempts  to  help  the  churches 
of  his  several  districts  to  secure  the  best  service  which 
their  needs  required.  He  was  early  marked  out  as 
a  safe  man  to  represent  the  Conference  of  which  he 
was  a  member  at  the  General  Conference.  The 
single  interruption  in  the  consecutiveness  of  his  numer- 
ous elections  to  this  body  was  caused  by  his  own 
determination  that  another  should  go  in  his  stead. 

The  strain  of  his  great  office  upon  heart  and 
mind  was  relieved  by  a  genial  humor,  which  seemed 
to  run  through  every  phase  of  his  life.  Within  very 
recent  da^'s,  speaking  of  his  increasing  years,  he 
intimated  that  the  end  of  life  could  not  be  far  dis- 
tant, but  spoke  of  the  conclusion  of  his  journey  in 
terms  of  serene  and  cheerful  acquiescence.  What 
Robert  Browning  said  of  himself  and  his  conception 
of  death  might  have  been  properly  uttered  by  the 
lips  of  Homer  Eaton:  "Without  death,  which  is  our 
church-yardy,  crape-like  word  for  change,  for  growth, 
there  could  be  no  prolongation  of  that  which  we  call 
life.     Never  say  of  me  that  I  am  dead." 

It  will  be  a  long  time  before  his  friends  and  kin- 
dred can  realize  that  Homer  Eaton  is  not  still  tarry- 
ing in  this  world.  Even  when  they  shall  have  been 
compelled  to  admit  that  he  has  vanished  from  their 
presence,  they  will  still  be  assured  that  the  influence 
of  his  service  to  humanity  and  the  Church  abides  in 
the  beneficent  products  of  his  heart  and  brain.  In 
some   of  his   experience   he   was   like   a   strong   tower 


58 HOMER      EATON 

in  a  tempestuous  sea,  lifting  its  height  above  the 
tumbling  waves,  and  sending  its  gleam  far  across  the 
angry  billows.  He  was  a  brave  man,  with  a  big  brain 
and  a  warm  heart.  The  comrade  of  his  years,  the 
faithful  wife  who  shared  the  anxieties  of  his  public 
service  and  eased  the  burdens  of  his  heart,  will  have 
the  earnest  prayers  and  sympathy  of  thousands  of 
Christians  who  saw^  in  her  valiant  husband  a  type 
of  character  worthy  of  deep  reverence  and  love. 

HOMER   EATON 

THE  REV.   H.   C.   JENNINGS,  D.D.,  IN  THE 
WESTERN  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE 

THERE  are  men  who  are  so  symmetrical  in  char- 
acter, temperament,  and  effectiveness  that  we 
do  not  take  much  note  of  their  strength  and 
power  until  the  shock  of  their  absence  arouses  us; 
they  grow  in  such  steady  strength  and  mastery  of 
their  tasks  that  we  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that 
they  will  continue  to  do  so. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  a  man  who  in  the  prime  of  his 
manhood  was  competent  to  take  a  large  place  and 
do  a  great  work  because  in  his  youth  he  had  settled 
the  question  of  what  he  should  believe.  As  life  al- 
ways follows  opinion,  and  no  man  is  better  than  his 
creed,  he  brought  forth  fruit  even  into  old  age,  be- 
cause he  was  rooted  and  grounded  in  the  faith.  To 
this  much  we  are  able  to  testify  thankfully,  because 
of  our  rather  intimate  association  with  him  for  many 
years.  In  the  quiet  hour  of  the  late  evening,  after 
a   hard    day    in    Conference   or   committee   work,    we 


HOMER      EATON 59 

have  sat  together  and  talked  of  things  that  were 
greater  than  our  present  tasks,  and  to  which  all  our 
tasks  were  leading,  for  we  had  much  in  common  in 
creed  and  mutual  sympathy,  and  our  work,  which  was 
closely  allied. 

Dr.  Eaton  gave  his  heart  a  chance;  the  demands 
of  a  strenuous  life  were  many  upon  him;  he  was  always 
in  the  thick  of  things  and  never  far  from  the  front 
rank  in  every  battle  which  the  Church  has  been 
waging  for  a  generation.  His  love  of  fellowship,  his 
willingness  to  talk  of  intimate  things,  the  saving 
grace  of  quiet  humor,  and  his  hearty  interest  in  the 
personal  affairs  and  needs  of  those  about  him  and 
under  him  were  phases  of  character  which  greatly 
strengthened  his  influence.  He  came  up  steadily 
through  many  years  of  cumulative  service  in  his  Con- 
ference; he  knew  all  phases  of  the  itinerancy;  he  often 
spoke  in  his  later  years  of  the  happy  life  of  an  effective 
pastor,  and  of  the  joy  he  had  in  the  fact  that  so  many 
of  his  years  had  been  spent  in  that  work.  He  came 
into  earl}"  recognition  in  the  life  of  the  general  Church; 
only  now  and  then  a  man  becomes  a  member  of  the 
chief  governing  body  of  the  Church  at  so  early  an 
age,  and  very  seldom  indeed  is  it  that  any  man  in 
our  history  has  had  membership  in  ten  General  Con- 
ferences to  his  credit. 

Never  a  great  talker,  never  with  any  pretense 
of  the  orator  about  him,  he  has  not  been  known  in 
that  capacity;  but  for  sturdy  common  sense,  for  wide 
information  concerning  all  the  affairs  of  the  Church, 
for  unflinching  loyalty,  sometimes  at  great  cost  to 
himself,  for   the   ability   to   say  the   right   thing,  and 


60 H  O  M  E  R      E  A  T  O  N 

to  say  it  at  the  right  time,  he  has  not  been  exceeded 
by  any  who  have  been  in  the  chief  councils  of  the 
Church. 

He  did  not  give  up  his  friends;  if  he  was  dis- 
appointed in  them,  still  he  held  to  them;  there  was  a 
steadfastness  about  him  which  it  was  good  to  know 
and  feel. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  very  greatly  interested  in  the 
later  developments  of  the  Book  Concern,  and  ac- 
cepted all  new  legislation  not  as  a  reactionary  but  as 
a  loyal  servant  of  the  Church.  The  place  of  general 
supervision  which  came  to  him  in  the  office  of  General 
Agent,  conferred  by  the  Book  Committee  at  the  close 
of  the  General  Conference,  he  accepted,  and  began 
at  once  the  study  of  the  larger  problems  which  con- 
fronted the  position  as  yet  untried  and  to  a  certain 
degree  undefined.  The  brotherly  courtesy  which  was 
manifested  in  his  relation  to  his  associates  was  greatly 
appreciated;  he  was  working  his  w^ay  toward  the 
mastery  of  the  task  which  had  been  given  him,  and 
in  it  he  was  fortified  by  the  long  experience  of  nearly 
six  quadrenniums  in  which  he  had  been  an  official 
publisher  of  Church  literature.  He  came  to  the  Book 
Concern  as  Agent  in  his  prime,  in  1889;  such  a  work 
is  not  an  easy  task,  to  have  large  responsibility  in 
the  selection  of  what  shall  be  read  throughout  a  wide 
Church;  to  so  manage  and  control  such  a  business 
requires  a  steadiness  of  nerve,  a  power  of  quick  de- 
cision, an  insight  into  the  future,  which  is  not  the 
usual  task  set  to  a  Methodist  preacher.  A  business 
house  such  as  The  Methodist  Book  Concern  must  take 
its  chances  with  other  houses  of  the  business  world; 


HOMER      EATON 61^ 

it  must  withstand  fluctuations  in  the  markets,  possi- 
ble panics,  changing  demands  on  the  part  of  a  reading 
pubHc.  This  man  was  confronting  the  problem  of 
how  to  take  advantage  of  markets;  make  the  best 
contracts  with  all  kinds  of  men;  keep  the  credit  of 
the  House  in  perfect  order;  understand  the  thing 
next  necessary  to  be  done  in  the  work  of  publishing; 
have  personal  authority  and  charge  over  a  great  force 
of  employees,  all  of  whom  the  Church  expects  to  work 
at  a  profit;  attend  to  an  almost  unlimited  corre- 
spondence; make  the  path  of  the  disappointed  author 
a  little  easier,  placate  the  author  whose  book  does 
not  sell  largely  enough  to  suit  him;  answer  a  thousand 
questions,  some  of  small  and  some  of  larger  import, 
which  come  to  him  steadily;  meet  all  kinds  of  people, 
contractors,  agents,  business  men,  investment  men, 
people  with  complaints,  people  with  criticisms,  and 
occasionally  people  with  modest  praise  for  the  success 
of  the  House;  and  all  these  nearly  every  day  in  every 
week  of  every  month  for  four  and  twenty  years;  and 
he  stood  through  it  all  straightforward,  placid,  good- 
natured,  optimistic. 

The  manner  of  his  going  was  like  him.  We 
may  safely  say  that  when  men  come  to  die  they  usually 
think  and  say  the  things  they  have  been  thinking 
and  saying  while  in  their  strength,  and  Dr.  Eaton, 
up  to  that  last  hour,  was  as  interested  and  as  thor- 
oughly awake  to  all  the  interests  and  affairs  of  the 
Church  he  loved  as  ever  he  had  been  in  his  strength- 
I  think  I  could  not  choose  for  him  a  form  of  passing 
which  would  appeal  to  me  so  perfectly  as  the  knowl- 
edge  that   he   went   out   instantly    to   the   larger   life 


m. H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 

beyond,  while  thinking  and  speaking  of  the  daily  life 
and  incidents  of  the  Church  as  reflected  in  the  columns 
of  his  favorite  Church  paper,  hoping  and  expecting 
still  to  live  and  serve,  yet  ^Yith  no  tasks  undone,  no 
preparations  unmade;  he  was  as  ready  to  go  on  the 
instant  when  the  call  came  as  he  could  possibly  have 
been. 

The  home  funeral  service  at  Madison,  where 
he  had  lived  so  long,  just  on  the  edge  of  the  Drew 
Seminary  campus,  was  helpful  and  comforting.  The 
house  was  filled  with  those  who  loved  him  best;  his 
friends  and  immediate  neighbors  were  there,  and 
many  others  who  had  journeyed  to  the  place  for  that 
hour.  Dr.  Tipple,  president  of  Drew  Theological 
Seminary,  had  charge  of  the  service;  several  of  Dr. 
Eaton's  companions  in  work  took  part;  Bishop  Wilson, 
Dr.  Rogers,  and  Dr.  Buttz  gave  brief  addresses  fitting 
to  the  time  and  occasion.  The  house  was  banked 
with  flowers;  there  was  no  jar  in  the  harmony  of  the 
occasion.  The  body  was  taken  to  New  York,  and 
rested  for  the  night  in  the  chapel  of  the  Book  Concern, 
under  a  guard  of  honor,  and  at  ten  o'clock  on  Thursday, 
February  13,  the  memorial  service  was  held.  The 
great  room  was  filled,  as  were  all  the  rooms  opening 
into  it.  There  was  not  only  a  large  representation  from 
New  York  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  but  the  presence 
was  noted  of  many  of  our  chief  ministers  and  others 
from  more  distant  points.  The  service,  in  charge  of 
Dr.  Tipple,  was  one  of  perfect  appropriateness.  Tele- 
grams of  sympathy  and  appreciation,  and  resolutions 
of  various  bodies  were  read,  and  addresses  made  by 
Bishop    Wilson,    Dr.    Frank    Mason   North,    and    Dr. 


HOMER      EATON 63 

George  P.  ^Nlaiiis.  Bishop  Berry,  Dr.  A.  B.  Leonard, 
Dr.  H.  A.  Biittz,  and  others  participated  in  the  service. 
The  entire  force  of  Book  Concern  employees  was 
present,  manifesting  sorrow  and  confidence  in  the 
departure  of  this  good  man.  We  shall  not  forget 
him;  how  could  we.^  We  shall  miss  him  in  our  coun- 
cils; we  shall  not  quite  see  his  like  again.  He  is  not 
dead,  but  gone  to  a  larger  service. 

DR.   HOMER  EATON 

THE  CENTRAL  CHRISTIAN  ADVOCATE 

THERE  is  living  to-day  scarcely  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  this  land 
who  is  not  familiar  with  the  name  of  Homer 
Eaton.  The  name  is  more  widely  known  than  that 
of  any  living  bishop.  Billions  of  pages  of  reading 
matter  have  gone  forth  from  the  presses  of  the  Church 
having  on  their  title  page  the  firm  name  of  Hunt  & 
Eaton  and  Eaton  &  JVIains.  That  firm  name  has  stood 
for  the  highest  uplands  of  Christian  literature;  it  has 
been  the  guarantee  of  the  quality  of  the  materials 
which  have  been  the  pabulum  of  millions  of  the  j'outh 
in  our  Sunday  schools;  it  has  been  the  imprimatur 
of  multiplied  thousands  of  books.  Like  the  leaves 
of  the  tree  for  the  healing  of  the  nations,  the  presses 
supervised  by  Homer  Eaton  have  flung  forth  to  the 
ends  of  the  planet  the  leaves  for  the  healing  of  the 
sin-cursed  and  brier-bearing  world  of  men. 

Homer  Eaton  was  born  in  the  parsonage  of  a 
Methodist  itinerant.  Who  that  in  the  deep  intimacies 
of  which  Homer  Eaton  was  capable    when   the   hour 


64 HOMER      EATON 

was  late  and  the  mood  drifted  into  confidence  has 
not  heard  some  story,  told  with  unaffected  feeling, 
of  those  days  when  in  the  rough  hills  of  Vermont  his 
father  rode  the  circuit,  and  year  after  year  took  his 
family  to  the  new  charge.  The  general  minutes  do 
not  give  the  "salary"  of  Bennett  Eaton,  that  year  1834 
on  the  Enosburg  Circuit,  when  a  babe  was  born;  per- 
haps the  "salary"  was  so  small  the  historian  could 
not  find  it.  None  the  less,  such  was  the  passion  for 
souls  of  that  physical  giant,  such  the  devotion  of  his 
wife,  that  with  all  their  privations  they  so  exalted 
the  vocation  of  the  ministry  that  at  least  two  of 
their  sons  entered  the  ministry  and  one  of  them 
was  destined  to  distinction,  to  whatever  immortality 
of  reputation  a  long  association  w^th  the  greatest 
publishing  plant  in  evangelical  Christendom  could 
confer. 

It  must  have  been  the  observation  of  all  who 
were  permitted  to  penetrate  the  sacred  friendship  of 
Dr.  Homer  Eaton,  that  nothing  gave  him  much  more 
pleasure  than  to  toss  out  as  a  trifle  the  memories  of 
the  hardships  of  those  days,  when  he  lived,  as  it  were, 
in  the  moving  van  of  the  itinerant. 

He  was  converted  in  one  of  the  revivals  held  by 
his  own  father  when  he  was  but  sixteen.  Instantly 
there  came  upon  him  the  full  persuasion  that  he,  too, 
must  preach  the  gospel.  Instantl}^  he  began  to  think 
of  a  higher  education.  He  went  to  the  academy  at 
Bakersfield,  Vt.,  and  then  to  Concord,  N.  H.,  to  enter 
the  famous  Biblical  Institute.  He  graduated  here  in 
1857,  and  immediately',  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
kn  ocked  at  the  door  of  the  Troy  Annual  Conference, 


HOMER      EATON 65 

that  year  holding  its  second  session  at  Pittsfield,  Mass., 
Bishop  Baker  presiding. 

The  young  man  was  a  physical  giant;  he  had  the 
perfection  of  health  and  manly  beauty;  he  was  con- 
sumed with  ardor  for  the  Master's  business;  his  mellow 
voice  carried  far  when  he  preached  in  the  open  air. 
He  had  a  companionable  habit  that  characterized  him 
to  the  very  end;  this  made  him  always  youthful,  al- 
ways a  confidant,  always  a  counselor,  and  marked 
him  from  the  very  first  as  a  man  destined  to  leadership. 

He  was  twenty-two  when  he  entered  the  min- 
istry; he  had  passed  through  his  Conference  Course 
of  study  but  two  years  when  he  was  made  assistant 
secretary  of  Troy  Conference,  which  position  he  held  for 
nine  years,  when,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five,  he  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  secretaryship.  He  was  but  thirty-six 
when  he  was  first  elected  to  General  Conference. 
The  next  quadrennium  he  was  a  reserve  delegate. 
From  that  period  until  his  death  Troy  Conference 
was  represented  by  Homer  Eaton  in  our  supreme 
legislature.  He  was  nine  times  a  member  of  the 
General  Conference,  having  a  record  approached  by 
but  few. 

During  these  years  he  was  presiding  elder  of  at 
least  two  districts,  Albany  and  Saratoga.  Since  the 
telegram  announcing  his  death  came  in,  one  who 
joined  the  Troy  Conference  under  his  presiding  elder- 
ship has  borne  abounding  testimony  to  the  generous 
and  companionable  character  of  the  man,  how  he 
was  the  model  of  this  young  minister,  how  his  big 
form,  towering  among  the  others  in  any  gathering, 
stood  for  his  character,  granite-Hke,  four-square,  but 


66 HOMER      EATON 

gentle  as  the  column  which  is  festooned  with  flower- 
ing vines. 

In  1880  Dr.  Eaton  was  made  a  member  of  the 
Book  Committee,  where  he  had  such  fellows  as  Clem 
Studebaker,  Leroy  Belt,  D.  C.  John,  Clinton  B. 
Fisk,  John  B.  Cornell,  Amos  Shinkle,  and  we  may 
add  Francis  S.  Beggs  and  Philip  G.  Gillett.  The 
Book  Committee  elected  the  young  man  chairman  of 
the  committee.  He  was  again  put  in  that  committee 
when  William  F.  Whitlock,  W.  H.  Olin,  Thomas  N. 
Boyle,  J.  C.  W.  Coxe,  William  Hoyt,  and  Richard 
Dymond  appear.  The  next  General  Conference  filled 
the  place  he  had  occupied  with  another.  But  that  was 
his  fortune,  because  on  January  15  of  the  following 
year  (1889)  John  M.  Phillips,  who  for  five  quad- 
renniums  had  been  elected  publishing  agent,  died. 
The  Book  Committee  met  within  a  few  weeks,  and  on 
a  Thursday  night,  when  Dr.  Eaton  was  conducting 
the  midweek  prayer  meeting  in  his  church  in  Burling- 
ton, Vt.,  a  telegram  announced  to  him  that  the  Book 
Committee  had  chosen  him  to  succeed  one  of  the 
greatest  publishers  the  Book  Concern  has  ever  had. 
How  wise  was  the  choice  is  a  matter  of  history.  Six 
General  Conferences  reaffirmed  the  estimate  of  the 
Book  Committee  by  re-electing  Dr.  Eaton,  so  on  the 
day  of  his  death  he  had  been  almost  to  a  day  for 
twenty-four  years  the  honored  masterbuilder  of  our 
great  publishing  house. 

By  the  time  of  Dr.  Eaton's  advent  as  master  of 
the  Book  Concern,  the  business  had  already  become 
enormous.  Six  and  a  half  million  dollars  of  periodical 
and  other  literature  were  sold  during  the  quadrennium 


HOMER      EATON ()7 

ending  May,  1888.  In  the  twenty -four  years  in  which 
Dr.  Eaton's  name  appears  on  the  output  of  the  Book 
Concern,  the  business  rose  to  nearly  two  hundred 
milhon  dolLirs.  This  great  expansion  was  due  to  a 
combination  of  many  forces,  but  among  the  premier 
forces,  certainly,  were  the  energies  and  sagacity  and 
nobility  of  Dr.  Eaton.  During  the  last  quadrennium 
the  output  of  English  and  German  periodicals  was 
not  less  than  three  hundred  million  copies  and  scarcely 
less  than  five  billion  pages.  With  the  traditions  of 
the  Book  Concern  he  was  saturated.  In  his  speech 
at  the  last  General  Conference  Anniversary  of  the 
Book  Concern  he  spoke  of  how  his  mind  instinctively 
went  back,  through  the  hundred  and  twenty-three 
years  of  history,  to  the  small  and  unpretentious  assem- 
bly room  of  Old  John  Street  Church  in  the  City  of 
New  York,  when  Francis  Asbury  and  the  twenty 
preachers  in  Conference  assembled  in  May,  1789, 
organized  The  Methodist  Book  Concern.  In  that 
Conference  sat  with  Asbury  Thomas  Coke,  the  Ox- 
ford scholar;  Freeborn  Garrettson,  the  giant;  the 
modest  yet  far-seeing  John  Dickins,  who  was  elected 
Book  Steward,  or  Publishing  Agent,  as  we  would 
say  now. 

Dr.  Eaton  could  never  dwell  with  an  intensity 
equal  to  his  enthusiasm  on  the  records  made  by  this 
institution  on  which  for  so  many  years  was  placed 
his  guiding  hand.  Beginning  with  a  borrowed  capital 
of  six  hundred  dollars,  it  has  breasted  every  adverse 
tide  of  business  depression,  of  church  division  in  '44, 
and  changing  civilization.  "And,"  exclaimed  Dr.  Eaton 
in  his  Minneapolis  address,  "what  do  we  see  to-day 


68 HOMER      EATON 

as  the  result  of  the  optimism  and  courage  of  John 
Dickins  ?  Throughout  the  long  period  of  its  existence 
The  Methodist  Book  Concern  has  gone  steadily  for- 
ward in  its  work,  until  it  has  attained  the  highest 
rank  among  the  publishing  houses  of  the  world." 

He  was  fraternal  delegate  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Canada,  a  delegate 
to  the  Ecumenical  Conference  in  London.  He  was 
for  a  generation  treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions.  He  was  trustee  and  counselor  of  several 
universities  and  theological  schools.  Some  years  ago 
he  was  sent  to  China  and  Japan  to  inspect  our  print- 
ing business  in  those  lands,  and  also  to  report  on 
missionary  conditions.  He  was  made  a  Doctor  of 
Divinity  and  Doctor  of  Laws. 

It  has  often  occurred  to  us  that  the  sources  of 
Dr.  Eaton's  strength  were  largely  found  in  his  do- 
mestic life.  The  house  in  which  he  lived  in  Madison, 
N.  J.,  was  planned  by  himself  and  wife,  and  an^^one 
could  see  that  the  rules  of  architecture  existed  for 
them  only  to  carry  out  their  domestic  felicity.  Com- 
fort, flowers,  family  traditions  marked  the  modest 
mansion  standing  in  its  broad  lawn  fronting  the  campus 
of  Drew  Seminary,  and  shaded  with  many  trees. 
Out  of  that  domestic  happiness  he  came  with  his 
giant  strength  day  after  day  to  his  tasks.  In  reality 
it  is  not  wonderful  that  at  seventy-nine  his  strength 
was  so  superb  or  his  daily  life  so  balanced  and  even. 
He  came  up  to  the  limit  of  threescore  years  and  ten 
with  clearness  of  vision,  a  contemporary  of  the  young- 
est writers  and,  we  may  say,  a  patron  of  them. 

Those  who  go  up  to  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 


H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 69 

Book  Committee  will  miss  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  as  a 
friend  and  lover  misses  the  vacant  chair.  There  will 
linger  in  the  memory  of  his  associates  the  picture  of 
a  strong  man  of  clear  brain,  without  affectation,  with 
directness  of  speech  and  kindness  of  heart;  and  life 
can  never  l)e  quite  the  same  until  we  meet  again  in 
the  Morning  Land. 

Dr.   Eaton   died   suddenly   last   Sunday   night   in 
Madison,  New  Jersey. 

HOMER  EATON,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

CALIFORNIA    CHRISTIAN   ADVOCATE 

THE  death  of  Dr.  Homer  Eaton,  announced  last 
week  in  the  Advocate,  calls  in  sorrow  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Church  to  one  of  her  most  esteemed 
and  most  useful  servants.  He  was  born  in  Enosburg, 
Vt.,  November  16,  1834,  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Bennett 
Eaton.  He  was  educated  in  the  Public  Schools, 
Bakersfield  Academy,  Vermont,  and  Concord  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  entering  the  ministry  in  1857. 
From  1857  to  1889  he  served  as  pastor  and  district 
superintendent  in  the  Troy  Conference.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  every  General  Conference  since  187'2, 
except  that  of  1876.  He  has  served  as  fraternal  dele- 
gate to  the  Canadian  Methodist  Conference.  In  1881 
and  in  1901  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Ecumenical  Con- 
ferences. In  1889,  upon  the  death  of  Publishing 
Agent  Phillips,  he  became  the  Publishing  Agent  with 
Dr.  Hunt.  He  has  served  the  Church  in  the  capacity 
of  trustee  of  various  colleges  and  seminaries.  He  has 
also  been  treasurer  of  the  Missionarv  Society  for  a 


70 HOMER      EATON 

score  of  years.  In  all  these  responsible  places  Dr. 
Eaton  has  rendered  conspicuous  and  efficient  service. 
It  has  come  to  few  men  in  the  history  of  our  American 
Methodism  to  render  such  a  large  volume  of  service 
to  the  Church. 

Dr.  Eaton  had  a  constructive  mind.  Again  and 
again  in  the  struggle  and  tangle  of  committee  work 
in  the  General  Conference  and  in  the  general  com- 
mittees on  Missions  Dr.  Eaton  presented  a  plan  so 
comprehensive,  so  clear,  and  so  adequate  as  to  often 
gain  the  instant  consent  of  the  whole  committee.  He 
familiarized  himself  with  the  details  of  his  work,  and 
not  in  the  history  of  his  connection  with  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  do  we  remember  that  he  ever  hesi- 
tated for  a  moment  in  a  clear  explanation  of  every 
question,  however  remote  in  its  reference,  which 
arose  concerning  his  reports.  Literally  millions  of 
dollars  passed  through  his  hands  every  year,  coming 
and  going  in  small  and  great  amounts.  It  came  from 
Conferences,  from  estates,  from  individual  donations, 
from  lapsed  annuities,  from  interest,  from  compound 
interest,  but  from  all  these  bewildering  sources  he  never 
allowed  a  moment  of  confusion  to  arise.  He  was  a 
master  of  details,  and  had  he  given  his  energies  to 
secular  business  there  is  not  a  bank  in  the  United  States 
he  could  not  have  successfully  guided.  He  certainly 
has  rendered  a  service  to  the  Missionary  Society  not  soon 
to  be  forgotten.  Such  was  his  business  sagacity  and  his 
painstaking  care  that  he  commanded  the  confidence 
of  the  New  York  financiers.  If  the  Missionary  So- 
ciety needed  $100,000  or  $200,000,  Dr.  Eaton,  as 
treasurer  of  that  Society,  was  able  always  to  secure  it 


HOMER      EATON 71 

on  a  moment's  notice.  He  may  not  be  remembered 
as  a  great  financier,  and  yet  in  the  administration  of  a 
financial  system  reaching  hterally  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth  he  has  shown  a  power  and  comprehension  of 
financial  details  not  excelled  by  many  of  the  great 
bankers  and  railway  presidents  in  the  United  States. 

It  was,  however,  as  Publishing  Agent  that  Dr. 
Homer  Eaton  rendered  his  greatest  service  to  Meth- 
odism. For  almost  exactly  twenty -four  years  he 
served  the  Church  in  that  capacity.  There  is  no 
need  of  piling  up  the  enormous  aggregates  of  the 
Book  Concern  business  and  profits  in  order  to  show  his 
work  in  concrete  form.  With  a  level  eye,  a  steady 
hand,  an  enthusiastic  heart,  day  in  and  day  out,  week 
after  week,  month  after  month,  year  upon  year,  the 
mind  and  soul  of  Dr.  Eaton  were  given  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  publishing  interests  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church.  The  first  great  speech  we 
heard  Dr.  Eaton  make  was  at  the  Committee  on  Book 
Concern  in  1900  at  Chicago.  His  contention  was  that 
the  primary  object  of  the  Publishing  House,  the  Book 
Concern,  was  not  financial  gain,  not  even  for  so 
laudable  a  cause  as  the  support  of  the  Superannuates, 
but  its  great  purpose  w^as  the  spread  of  religious 
literature.  He  stood  all  the  years  of  his  administra- 
tion for  that  policy.  The  pressure  for  financial  assets 
and  profits  from  the  Book  Concern  he  felt  called  upon 
to  resist.  The  only  adequate  reason  why  the  Church 
should  enter  the  publishing  field  is  a  religious  reason. 
The  Book  Concern  should  pour  out  a  stream  of  health- 
giving  literature  if  it  had  to  run  even  at  an  enormous 
loss.    He  put  the  whole  emphasis  of  his  administration 


72 HOMER      EATON 

on  the  problem  of  sending  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  a 
rich,  clean,  powerful  Christian  literature.  If  we  sub- 
tract his  services  as  pastor,  preacher,  district  super- 
intendent for  thirty-two  years,  take  out  of  the  account 
his  score  of  years  as  treasurer  of  the  Missionary 
Society,  overlook  his  services  as  a  member  of  ten 
General  Conferences,  as  a  most  efficient  working 
member  of  the  general  committees  on  missions,  his 
inspirational  addresses  at  the  Annual  Conferences,  we 
still  have  the  enormous  bulk  of  service  he  has  given 
the  Church  as  Publishing  Agent. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  tall,  commanding  in  physical  ap- 
pearance. His  face  was  large  and  in  many  ways 
reminded  his  friends  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee.  He 
was  generous  and  noble  in  all  his  bearing.  To  know 
Homer  Eaton  was  to  like  him.  He  was  the  soul  of 
honor  and  good  will.  The  nearer  you  got  to  him  the 
better  you  liked  him.  There  was  something  princely 
in  his  personal  bearing.  If  he  had  a  fault  it  was  in  his 
tremendous  loyalty  to  his  friends.  He  always  found 
time  to  speak  to  them  and  made  them  feel  that  he 
cared  for  them  more  than  he  cared  for  petty  demands 
of  a  tyrannous  business.  His  religious  experience  was 
of  a  plain,  simple,  practical,  unostentatious,  but 
genuine  normal  sort.  His  faith  was  of  the  steady, 
fundamental  type.  His  spirit  was  broad,  hearty, 
courageous,  kindly,  tender,  and  true.  He  combined  as 
large  a  measure  of  conciliation,  concord,  co-operation, 
with  fundamental  firmness,  steadfastness  of  principles 
as  any  man  we  have  known.  His  life  has  been  profit- 
ably spent,  not  only  in  concrete  and  tangible  assets, 
but   profitable   as   measured   in   the   higher   values   of 


HOMER       EATON 73 

Christian   fellowship    and    of    the    ministrations    of    a 
consecrated  life. 

Mrs.  Eaton,  whom  he  married  in  1858,  was  Miss 
Hannah  Saxe,  the  sister  of  Dr.  A.  W.  Saxe,  for  many 
years  the  tower  of  strength  in  our  Santa  Clara,  Cal., 
Methodism.  Mrs.  Eaton  has  the  prayerful  sym- 
pathy of  the  Church  whose  interests  both  she  and 
her  distinguished  husband  have  served  so  long  and 
so  well. 

A  PRINCE  IN  ISRAEL  HAS  FALLEN 

THE    SOUTHW^ESTERN    CHRISTIAN    ADVOCATE 

IT  will  be  a  distinct  shock  to  world-wide  Methodism 
to  receive  the  sad  intelligence  that  the  Rev. 
Homer  Eaton,  D.D.,  General  Publishing  Agent 
of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  died  suddenly  at 
his  home  in  Madison,  N.  J.,  Sunday  night,  February 
ninth.  In  his  death  Methodism  loses  one  of  its  stal- 
wart men.  While  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  was 
generally  assertive  in  the  public  assemblies  of  the 
Church,  3"et,  when  the  occasion  demanded  and  his 
whole  nature  was  aroused,  he  would  become  a  for- 
midable champion  or  opponent,  as  the  case  might  be, 
of  the  subject  under  consideration.  He  was  truly  one 
of  the  foremost  men  of  Methodism.  In  spite  of  his 
advanced  years  (for  he  celebrated  his  seventy-eighth 
birthday  November  sixteenth,  last),  to  all  appearances 
he  was  in  vigorous  health,  and  the  Church  expected 
that  he  would  close  the  present  quadrennium  and 
probably  retire  at  the  next  General  Conference,  with 
years  yet  to  receive  the  blessings  of  the  Church  that 


74 H  O  :M  E  R      EATON 

he  had  loved  so  ardently  and  served  so  devotedly. 
It  was  a  tribute  to  his  long  service  in  connection  with 
our  publishing  interest  that  the  Book  Committee 
elected  him  last  May  as  General  Agent  of  the  Book 
Concern.  Had  he  lived  only  four  days  longer  he 
would  have  completed  twenty-four  full  years  as  Pub- 
lishing Agent  of  The  Methodist  Book  Concern,  a 
record  probably  unparalleled  in  Methodist  history. 
During  the  six  quadrenniums  that  he  served  the  Church 
in  the  capacity  of  Publishing  Agent,  he  had  seen  the 
business  incr:ease  many  fold.  He  gave  himself  un- 
reservedly to  this  one  work  and  proved  himself  to  be 
an  efficient  and  thoroughly  capable  publisher.  While 
he  was  devoted  to  the  publishing  interests  of  the 
Church,  he  was  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  whole 
Church,  and  was  generally  informed  on  all  the  Church's 
activities.  Dr.  Eaton  had  served  the  Church  for 
sixteen  years  as  treasurer  of  the  IVIissionary  Society. 
In  the  meetings  of  the  General  Conference  Committees 
on  Foreign  Missions  he  was  remarkably  clear  on  the 
propositions  which  he  would  champion,  and  whatever 
thought  he  advanced  received  the  earnest  considera- 
tion of  his  brethren.  He  was  safe  in  judgment, 
forceful  in  public  address,  and  was,  by  nature,  a  leader 
of  men.  He  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of 
our  latter-day  Methodism.  Tall  in  body,  he  was  tall 
in  character;  big  in  brain,  he  was  big  in  heart;  he 
was  magnanimous  and  brotherly  at  all  times.  Much 
loved,  greatly  honored,  his  death  will  be  widely- 
mourned. 

Dr.  Eaton  inherited  a  good  name  in  Methodist 
historv.     His   father   was   an   active   member   of   the 


H  O  :M  E  R      EATON 75 

Troy  Conference  for  many  years  and  represented  the 
Troy  Conference  in  the  Cleneral  Conference  of  1868. 
The  Rev.  Homer  Eaton  was  born  in  Enosburg,  Vt., 
November  16,  1834.  He  was  converted  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  years,  and  soon  thereafter  felt  himself 
called  to  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry.  He 
conmienced  his  preparatory  studies  at  the  Academy 
in  Bakersfield,  Vt.,  and  finished  them  at  the  Methodist 
General  Biblical  Institute,  in  Concord,  N.  H. 

Homer  Eaton  and  his  brother,  Joel  W.  Eaton, 
the  latter  three  years  the  senior,  joined  the  Troy 
Conference  in  1857.  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  gave  to  the 
Church  a  continuous  service  in  the  active  ranks  of 
fifty-six  years.  Dr.  Joel  Eaton  died  a  short  while  ago. 
Homer  Eaton  was  elected  secretary  of  his  Conference 
soon  after  his  election  to  elder's  orders  and  held  the 
position  for  many  years.  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  was 
elected  to  the  General  Conference  first  in  1872,  was 
a  member  of  the  General  Conferences  of  1880,  1884, 
1888,  1892,  1896,  1900,  1904,  1908,  and  1912.  He 
was  not  a  member  of  the  General  Conference  of  1876, 
but  his  brother  Joel  was,  and  Dr.  Homer  was  a  reserve 
delegate.  The  two  brothers  w^ere  members  of  the 
Troy  delegation  at  two  General  Conferences — 1880 
and  1892.  When  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  w^as  first  elected 
a  member  of  the  General  Conference,  his  brother, 
Dr.  Joel  W.,  was  the  chief  reporter,  having  charge  of 
the  stenographic  report  of  the  General  Conference  in 
1872.  Such  a  record  on  the  part  of  two  brothers  can 
hardly  be  duplicated  in  Methodism.  In  1872  Dr. 
Homer  Eaton  was  chosen  one  of  the  fraternal  dele- 
gates  to   the   General    Conference   of   the   Methodist 


76 HOMER      EATON 

Episcopal  Church  in  Canada.  He  was  a  delegate  to 
the  first  Ecumenical  Conference,  held  in  London,  in 
1881.  He  served  two  full  terms  as  presiding  elder, 
and  was  considered  one  of  the  most  successful  pastors 
of  his  Conference.  At  the  time  of  his  election  as 
Publishing  Agent  he  was  in  his  third  year  as  pastor 
at  Burlington,  Vt.,  which  charge  had  unanimously 
voted  requesting  his  return  for  the  fourth  year.  Dr. 
Eaton  was  a  member  of  the  Book  Committee  from 
1880  to  1888,  and  was  chairman  for  the  first  four 
years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Commission  on 
General  Conference  Entertainment  in  1884,  and  sec- 
retary of  that  Conunission. 

John  M.  Phillips,  the  senior  Publishing  Agent  at 
New  York,  the  first  layman  elected  to  that  position, 
died  on  the  fifteenth  of  January,  1889.  For  seventeen 
years  he  had  occupied  that  position  and  was  also 
treasurer  of  the  ^Missionary  Society.  At  the  next 
Book  Committee  meeting,  held  in  New  York  on  Fel)- 
ruary  thirteenth,  one  of  the  first  things  done  was  to 
fill  the  vacancy  created  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Phillips. 
At  that  session  of  the  Book  Committee  C.  B.  Fisk 
was  chairman  of  the  Eastern  section  and  W.  F.  ^Yhit- 
lock  of  the  Western  section.  Amos  Shinkle  was 
chairman  of  the  General  Committee,  and  David  H. 
Moore  secretary.  The  election  of  the  Publishing  Agent 
to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Mr.  Phillips 
was  fixed  as  the  order  of  the  day  for  2 :  30  p.  m.  On  the 
first  ballot  19  votes  were  cast.  Necessary  to  choice, 
10.  Homer  Eaton  received  11;  Henry  W.  Knight,  4; 
J.  P.  Hammond,  1.  There  were  3  blank  votes.  Dr. 
Eaton  was  declared  elected.     Bishops  Foster,  Andrews, 


HOMER      EATON 77 

Foss,  Hurst,  and  Joyce  were  present  and  concurred 
in  the  election.  The  new  Pul)Usliing  Agent  was  not 
present,  but  was  summoned  by  wire.  Upon  the  re- 
quest of  Dr.  Hunt,  Dr.  Eaton  was  elected  treasurer 
of  the  Episcopal  Fund.  At  the  General  Conference, 
held  in  189''2,  at  Omaha,  Dr.  Eaton  was  elected  Pub- 
lishing Agent,  and  has  been  elected  at  every  General 
Conference  since. 

Dr.  Eaton  was  in  every  way  thoroughly  interested 
in  our  work  in  the  South,  and  showed  special  interest 
in  the  Southwestern  Christian  Advocate.  Our 
quarters  were  burned  January  31,  1898.  We  were 
occupying,  at  that  time,  the  second  floor  of  4"29  Caron- 
delet  Street.  The  editor,  who  was  attending  the 
Florida  Conference,  was  summoned  home  by  telegraph 
and  returned  to  find  a  sad  and  dejected  office  force. 
But  what  else  could  be  expected.^ — burned  out,  home- 
less, turned  into  the  street,  and,  while  there  were  funds 
to  rent  comfortable  quarters,  comfortable  quarters  were 
not  to  be  had.  We  had  made  arrangements  to  occupy 
the  third  floor  at  419  Carondelet  Street,  and  were 
in  the  midst  of  cleaning  the  dirty,  dingy  rooms  and 
re-establishing  ourselves  when,  to  our  utter  surprise, 
in  the  midst  of  our  confusion  and  discouragement. 
Dr.  Homer  Eaton  appeared  on  the  scene.  His  coming 
was  a  benediction  and  an  inspiration.  He  was  not 
long  in  sizing  up  the  situation.  He  said  the  time  had 
come  when  the  Southwestern  should  own  its  own 
quarters.  From  New  Orleans  Dr.  Eaton  went  to  the 
meeting  of  the  Book  Committee  in  Cincinnati  and, 
presenting  the  option  on  the  present  piece  of  property, 
secured   an   immediate   appropriation   of   $1*2,000   and 


78 HOMER      EATON 

purchased  the  same.  It  was  never  his  privilege  to 
see  the  building  complete  in  every  detail;  he  was 
here,  however,  when  repairs  were  near  completion. 
He  is  to  be  remembered  in  many  ways  for  his  man- 
ifested interest  in  this  publication. 

Doctor  Eaton  is  survived  by  his  widow,  who 
lives  at  Madison,  N.  J.,  and  to  her  the  fullest  sym- 
pathy of  the  Church  will  be  poured  out,  and  many 
prayers  will  go  up  to  the  good  All-Father  that  she  may 
be  sustained  in  this  trying  hour. 

DR.  HOMER  EATON 

THE    PACIFIC    CHRISTIAN    ADVOCATE 

A  PRINCE  in  Israel  has  fallen!  On  Monday 
morning  the  Editor  received  the  following 
words  which  brought  news  that  cut  to  the 
very  quick  and  which  will  carry  sorrow  to  thousands 
of  hearts:  "Dr.  Homer  Eaton  died  suddenly  at  his 
home  in  Madison  yesterday  (Saturday)."  Signed 
George  P.  Mains. 

When  Mr.  John  M.  Phillips,  the  first  layman  to 
hold  the  office  of  Publishing  Agent,  died  at  New  York 
in  January,  1889,  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  was  chosen  by 
the  Book  Committee  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  was 
associated  with  Dr.  Sandford  Hunt.  The  firm  name 
then  stood.  Hunt  &  Eaton,  until  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1896  elected  Dr.  George  P.  Mains  to  fill 
the  vacancy  made  by  the  death  of  Dr.  Hunt,  which 
occurred  in  February  just  preceding  the  General  Con- 
ference. Dr.  Eaton  was  born  in  Vermont,  November 
16,   1834,  converted   at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  was 


H  O  :\I  E  R      EATON 79 

called  into  the  ministry  while  but  a  boy.  His  record 
has  been  a  long  and  rather  remarkable  one.  He  has 
served  the  Church  in  various  capacities  and  always 
with  credit  to  himself  and  the  denomination  of  his 
choice.  As  secretary  of  the  Troy  Conference,  dele- 
gate to  the  General  Conference,  fraternal  delegate, 
and  member  of  the  Book  Committee  and  other  posi- 
tions of  trust,  he  has  served  with  highest  acceptability. 
He  has  been  a  delegate  to  every  General  Conference 
since  1872,  with  one  exception  (that  of  1876,  when  he 
was  a  reserve  delegate),  and  has  led  his  delegation 
several  times.  He  was  a  tall,  commanding  figure, 
witli  a  strong  stentorian  voice,  and  spoke  with  con- 
vincing authority.  Dr.  Eaton  was  a  man  of  large 
experience,  ripe  wisdom,  spotless  integrity,  and  of  fine 
business  ability  and  superior  financial  skill. 

Dr.  Eaton  has  seen  the  growth  of  the  Book 
Concern  from  a  net  capital  of  $3,130,950.09  to  over 
$5,000,000.00,  and  the  sales  increase  from  $8,186,437.53 
for  the  quadrennium  ending  in  1892  to  $10,321,284.30 
for  the  quadrennium  ending  in  1912.  And  during  his 
incumbency  The  ^Methodist  Book  Concern  has  in- 
creased its  dividends  to  the  Annual  Conferences  from 
$314,428  for  the  quadrennium  ending  in  1892  to 
$780,000  for  the  last  quadrennium.  To  no  small 
degree  was  this  magnificent  record  made  possible  by 
the  superb  ability  of  this  man.  The  Church  is  poorer 
and  society  is  poorer,  but  heaven  is  richer  because 
Dr.  Eaton  has  gone  home.  But  earth  will  always  be 
better  because  he  lived. 


80  HOMER      EATON 


THE  GRAND  OLD  MAN  OF  THE 
BOOK  CONCERN 

THE    EPWORTH    HERALD 

DR.  HOMER  EATON,  General  Agent  of  The 
Methodist  Book  Concern,  died  at  Madison, 
N.  J.,  on  Sunday,  February  9.  He  was  in 
his  seventy-ninth  year. 

The  name  of  Homer  Eaton  is  bound  up  with  a 
quarter  century  of  Book  Concern  history.  To  the 
present  generation  of  Methodists  his  name  meant 
Book  Concern,  and  that  only.  It  is  not  easy  to 
realize  that  back  of  his  great  career  in  the  Concern 
there  was  a  third  of  a  century  of  efficiency  in  the 
pastorate. 

But  "Homer  Eaton"  goes  far  into  the  past.  He 
was  a  Methodist  preacher  before  Buchanan  came  to 
the  presidency,  and  he  did  not  begin  as  a  boy  preacher, 
either.  His  preparation  was  the  best  he  could  find 
in  New  England — Bakersfield  Academy  and  the  theo- 
logical seminary  at  Concord,  N.  H.,  which  later  be- 
came the  School  of  Theology  of  Boston  University. 

Homer  Eaton  was  a  giant  in  stature  and  in  in- 
tellect, and  he  had  a  great  heart.  To  the  casual 
observer  he  seemed  something  reserved  and  stern, 
but  there  was  a  cheery  glint  in  his  eye,  if  you  looked 
closely  enough,  and  his  was  as  genial  a  soul  as  the 
Lord  made  in  his  generation. 

In  an  assemblage  his  tall  form  and  his  great 
voice  made  him   conspicuous.     In   the   General   Con- 


HOMER      EATON 81 

ference  he  did  not  speak  often,  but  when  he  spoke 
he  was  heard  and  his  words  were  heeded.  His  bodily 
and  mental  vigor  was  unimpaired  almost  to  the  last, 
and  he  looked  ten  years  under  his  age. 

It  is  too  soon  to  gather  up  and  estimate  all  the 
workings  of  his  influence  on  the  Book  Concern,  and 
on  the  New  York  house  especially,  where  he  was 
Publishing  Agent  from  1889  to  1912.  But  no  history 
of  the  book  interests  of  the  Church  could  be  written, 
now  or  a  century  from  now,  without  a  large  recog- 
nition of  Homer  Eaton's  influence  on  its  development. 
Last  summer,  under  the  new  law  now  governing  the 
Concern,  he  was  made  General  Agent,  and  his  respon- 
sibilities put  him  in  touch  with  its  whole  work. 

He  was  treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, and  a  notable  figure  in  the  Board's  councils. 
This  work  was  to  him  of  the  highest  importance,  and, 
though  he  had  large  duties  of  many  sorts  in  other 
directions,  the  Book  Concern  and  the  foreign  mis- 
sions occupied  his  heart. 


PERSONAL  TRIBUTES 


PERSONAL  TRIBUTES 

BISHOP   EARL   CRANSTON 

FOR  many  years  he  had  been  to  me  not  "Doctor," 
but  just  Homer  Eaton.  Thrown  together  in 
the  service  of  the  Church,  we  were  soon  drawn 
together  in  mutual  confidence  and  affection,  and 
never  was  there  a  breach  in  our  friendship  or  a  break 
in  our  understanding  of  each  other.  Great  issues  have 
been  fought  out  in  the  Church  during  those  years,  but 
though  I  am  sure  we  must  have  disagreed  on  some 
of  them,  I  cannot  recall  now  what  ones  they  were,  so 
deep  and  even  was  the  flow  of  our  undisturbed  friend- 
ship at  all  times.  The  last  time  we  met,  only  the 
other  day  it  seems,  we  had  much  satisfaction  in  the 
mention  of  this  fact.  x\s  he  loomed  in  stature,  so  did 
Homer  Eaton  stand  tall  in  his  manhood.  Stalwart 
as  he  was  in  his  convictions,  and  sometimes  aroused 
to  tremendous  directness  and  force  in  his  utterance 
of  them,  I  never  saw  him  exultant  in  victory  or  sullen 
in  defeat.  Though  conservative  by  nature,  he  was 
yet  open-eyed  for  real  improvement  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  his  office.  He  was  so  intensely  loyal  to 
the  Church,  and  to  his  conception  of  official  duty, 
that  his  chief  satisfaction  in  living  was  the  success 
he  achieved  in  meeting  the  demands  of  the  great 
trusts  imposed  upon  his  integrity  and  ability.  Yet 
he  was  genial  and  companionable  with  all  his  asso- 
ciates, and  rarely  too  busy  for  a  little  jollity.  1  could 
never  detect  that  his  vears  abated  his  enthusiasm  for 


86 HOMER      EATON 

his  work,  nor  had  I  a  thought  when  I  saw  him  last 
that  I  should  see  him  no  more  on  earth.  But  so  it 
was  ordered,  and  all  who  loved  him  have  now  a  new 
reason  to  thank  God  that  such  men  live  forever. 
Among  the  many  strong  and  honored  men  who  have 
served  our  Church  in  places  of  high  trust,  Homer 
Eaton's  long  and  conspicuous  record  will  assure  to 
his  name  lasting  recognition. 


BISHOP   JOHN    M.    WALDEN 

HOMER  EATON  has  long  been  the  recognized 
representative  member  of  the  Troy  Confer- 
ence, one  of  the  great  Conferences  of  Method- 
ism, including  sections  of  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  and 
New  York,  Albany,  the  capital,  being  near  the  center 
of  this  Conference.  Forty-five  years  ago  I  first  saw 
the  Conference  in  session  and  was  deeply  impressed 
with  it  as  a  body  of  strong,  devoted  Methodist  preachers 
of  that  day.  Other  official  visits  have  kept  me  ad- 
vised as  to  this  fine  body  of  men  and  their  successful 
work.  Here  Homer  Eaton  had  his  lifelong  Conference 
membership.  They  knew  him  intimately.  They  re- 
corded their  estimate  of  his  character  and  abilities 
by  keeping  him  through  the  years  in  the  forefront  of 
those  they  honored  and  trusted.  This  is  the  reliable 
testimonial  to  the  worth  and  work  of  Homer  Eaton 
to  which  I  refer  with  supreme  satisfaction. 

His  relation  to  the  Missionary  Society  and  work 
was  particularly  marked.  But  it  was  more  than  a 
business  interest.  At  the  North  Germany  Conference 
at  Heilbronn  he  first  had  opportunity  to  witness  our 


HOMER      EATON 87 

Methodism  in  the  Fatherland.  There  are  some  things 
in  Ge'rman  service  that  can  be  understood  without 
any  interpreter  save  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  more  than 
enjoyed  the  spiritual  power  of  the  services.  From 
his  own  words  it  is  evident  that  he,  the  treasurer, 
studied  the  spiritual  work  in  all  the  missions  he  visited 
and  judged  it  by  the  highest  measure  of  efficiency. 
In  every  position  he  honored  his  Church  by  serving 
it  well. 

BISHOP    DAVID    H.    MOORE 

MY  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Eaton  began  at  the 
General  Conference  of  1880,  when  he  and 
Mrs.  Eaton,  with  the  other  Troy  Conference 
delegates,  were  my  guests  in  the  Cincinnati  Wesleyan 
College,  of  which  I  was  then  president.  Acquaintance 
soon  ripened  into  respect  and  admiration.  His  rating 
for  Christian  manhood  and  ecclesiastical  and  business 
ability  had  steadily  advanced  from  year  to  year. 
Later,  when  secretary  of  the  Book  Committee,  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  having  observed  his  thorough 
comprehension  of  the  details  of  our  publishing  in- 
terests, it  was  a  pleasure  to  do  what  I  could  to  elect 
him  to  the  agency  of  the  New  York  House  made 
vacant  by  the  death  of  John  M.  Phillips.  His  long 
and  able  service  has  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  his 
choice. 

He  knew  men,  and  knew  how  to  win  and  hold 
their  confidence  and  regard.  He  had  an  unaffected 
sociability  which,  while  not  abating  his  natural  dig- 
nity, served  to  widen  his  influence.  All  his  resources 
were  consecrated  to  the  success  of  the  Concern,  which 


88 HOMER      EATON 

is  the  sufficient  evidence  of  his  business  abihty.  We 
were  fellow  passengers  to  Japan  when  he  first  w^ent 
out  to  inspect  our  Publishing  House  in  Tokyo.  Freed 
from  the  immediate  engrossments  of  business,  he  gave 
free  rein  to  his  splendid  spirit  of  comradeship,  and 
was  easily  the  dominant  figure  of  the  ship's  company. 
In  his  Madison  home  hospitality  and  gladness 
ever  sat  together  in  the  cozy  ingleside.  My  heart 
bleeds  for  her  he  loved  so  fondly,  to  whom  its  cheery 
glow  is  turned  to  ashes. 


BISHOP    JOHN    W.    HAMILTON 

HOMER  EATON  by  birth  was  of  the  sons  of 
Anak,  but  by  adoption  a  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews.  He  had  lived  neighbor  to  the 
Adirondacks  until  he  was  taller  than  Mount  Marcy, 
the  highest  peak,  as  the  man  is  taller  than  the  moun- 
tain; he  wore  by  nature  the  airs  of  a  noble  lineage. 
There  was  a  majesty  to  his  becoming,  but  his  democracy 
was  as  unmistakable  as  his  Methodism.  With  his 
longer  reach  he  soon  laid  claim  to  the  higher  appoint- 
ments. It  was  as  natural  to  think  of  him  for  the 
presiding  eldership  as  to  think  of  Saul  for  the  head 
of  his  line.  He  sang  of  Troy  like  the  other  Homer, 
until  he  came  to  the  first  place  in  the  making  of  books. 
Brought  up  to  the  General  Conference  year  after  year 
by  the  esteem  of  his  brethren,  he  stood  next  to  the 
elect  when  he  was  chosen  to  the  vacancy  occasioned 
bj'  the  death  of  his  predecessor.  The  hundreds  of 
thousands  came  to  millions  of  dollars  in  his  hands. 
He  had  the  instinct  of  business  and  the  genius  of  the 


H  O  :M  E  R      EATON 89 

publisher.  He  did  most  of  his  preaching  through  his 
distribution  of  the  books  of  the  great  teachers  and 
great  preachers.  He  rose  to  the  greatest  advantage 
as  the  spokesman  for  the  treasury  of  foreign  missions 
in  the  general  committees.  His  Christian  virtues 
were  as  a  stalwart  river.  His  friendship  was  like  that 
of  Jonathan.  His  home  was  his  castle.  Possessing 
the  knightly  spirit,  his  death  was  of  the  knightly  order. 
The  chivalry  of  his  fate  was  unpretentious,  but  he 
believed  nobly  with  "a  firm  and  sure  knowledge  of  the 
Divine  favor."  He  will  stay  long  in  our  affections  and 
memories. 

BISHOP    WILLIAM    F.    MC  DOWELL 

DR.  HOMER  EATON  has  been  such  a  con- 
spicuous figure  in  our  Church  life  for  so  long 
a  time  that  we  shall  not  quite  know  how  to 
get  along  without  him.  In  a  very  unusual  way  his 
appearance  indicated  his  character.  He  not  only 
looked  the  man  he  was,  he  was  every  bit  the  man  he 
looked.  And  that  is  saying  a  great  deal.  A  certain 
list  of  terms  comes  almost  involuntarily  to  mind  as 
we  think  of  him.  He  was  rugged,  upright,  strong, 
safe,  courageous,  kind,  devoted,  honest,  and  faithful. 
I  shall  expect  to  see  him  characterized  under  all  the 
figures  that  indicate  strength  and  majesty.  And  those 
men  who  think  of  him  as  a  tall  pine,  or  a  strong  for- 
tress, or  as  a  shadow  of  a  great  rock,  or  liken  him  to 
the  Vermont  hills  from  which  he  came,  will  neverthe- 
less have  a  strange  sense  of  personal  tenderness  in 
their  recollection,  for  he  was  as  gentle  as  a  child  and 


90 HOMER      EATON 

as  affectionate  a  man  as  has  lived  among  us  in  all 
the  years.  It  is  a  great  thing  for  the  Church  to 
produce  such  sons,  and  then  through  the  years  to 
command  their  splendid  services. 


BISHOP   WILLIAM    BURT 

DR.  EATON  was  not  only  tall  physically,  looking 
over  the  heads  of  most  of  us,  but  he  was  in- 
tellectually and  morally  tall.     His  vision  was 
broad  and  took  in  the  future,  and  he  had  the  courage 
to  plan  and  do  tall  things.     He  saw  the  relations  of  our 
work  as  a  world-problem. 

We  shall  greatly  miss  him  in  all  the  important 
enterprises  of  our  Church,  both  home  and  abroad. 


BISHOP   RICHARD    J.    COOKE 

ONE  by  one  the  tall  cedars  of  Lebanon  fall  and 
leave  a  "lonesome  place  against  the  sky."  For 
twenty-five  years,  and  more,  Dr.  Eaton  was  a 
conspicuous  figure  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  Suc- 
ceeding J.  M.  Phillips  in  New  York  as  Publishing  Agent, 
he  held  that  position  until  the  hour  of  his  death.  Of 
his  services  in  detail  and  in  gross,  it  is  not  necessary 
for  me,  at  this  time,  to  speak;  enough  to  say  that 
they  were  great;  they  were  given  with  hearty  good 
will  and  a  driving  energy  which  made  things  happen- 
As  Book  Editor  of  the  Church  for  eight  years,  I  was 
constantly  associated  with  him  in  all  that  pertained 
to  the  printing  of  our  publishing  interests,  and  I  can 
but  bear  testimony  to  his  conscientiousness  for  things 


HOMER      EATON 91 

which  were  largest  and  best.  Wliile  he  was  Publish- 
ing Agent  he  was  also  treasurer  of  the  Missionary- 
Society.  Millions  of  dollars  passed  through  his  hands, 
but  not  even  a  postage  stamp  ever  stuck  to  his  fingers. 
He  was  also  connected  with  many  boards  of  the  Church 
and  in  all  of  them  his  advice  was  sought  and  his  coun- 
sel followed.  A  tall,  striking  figure,  he  impressed 
everyone,  but  his  strength  and  the  real  beauty  of  his 
character,  which  made  him  loved  by  all  who  knew 
him,  was  that  which  impressed  men  most.  It  is 
mighty  evidence  of  the  entering  of  the  spirit  of  God 
in  a  church  that  can  produce  and  maintain  such 
men.  The  remembrance  of  him  will  long  remain  as 
the  perfume  stays  when  the  vase  is  broken.  Blessed 
be  his  memory. 

BISHOP   WILBUR   P.    THIRKIELD 

IN  the  death  of  Dr.  Homer  Eaton  the  Church 
loses  a  man  who  has  stood  aloft  as  one  of  its  tall 

pillars  for  a  generation  or  more.  In  every  posi- 
tion to  which  the  Church  has  called  him  he  has 
rendered  strong  and  efficient  service. 

In  his  office  as  the  Agent  of  The  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  the  entire  Church  has  learned  to  know  him, 
and  his  virile  manhood,  frankness,  courage,  and  firm- 
ness have  left  a  unique  impress.  Combined  with 
these  sterner  qualities  were  a  geniality  and  warmth 
that  bound  to  him  in  friendship  and  Christian  fellow- 
ship large  groups  of  men. 


92  HOMER      EATON 


DR.    GEORGE    P.    MAINS,    PUBLISHING    AGENT    OF   THE 
METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,    NEW    YORK 

DR.  HOMER  EATOX,  a  Vermonter,  tall,  ruggea, 
sun-crowned,  like  the  peaks  of  his  native 
State!  Human  to  the  core,  large-hearted, 
kindly,  generous,  wise — a  very  Nestor  among  the 
counselors  of  the  Church!  In  him  was  a  native  fund 
of  waggery  in  the  atmosphere  of  which  all  belligerency 
was  disarmed,  yet  he  was  capable  of  treating  subjects 
of  most  serious  magnitude  in  a  spirit  worthy  of  their 
gravity.  This  man's  escutcheon  was  without  spot. 
Walking  in  the  white  light  of  the  open,  he  commanded 
in  public  life  for  more  than  half  a  century  the  un- 
clouded confidence  of  a  great  Church.  A  pastor  in 
chief  places,  presiding  elder,  official  publisher  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  treasurer  of  the  Missionary 
Board,  traveler  in  many  lands — in  all  relations  ac- 
quitting himself  like  a  knight  of  honor. 

The  absence  of  a  face  so  familiar,  the  departure 
from  among  us  of  a  character  so  venerated,  is  like 
tearing  from  the  local  landscape  of  our  lives  a  stalwart 
companion  whose  memory  we  must  cherish,  whose 
departure  we  can  but  mourn. 

The  high  compensation  for  such  a  loss  is  furnished 
alone  in  our  Christian  faith.  The  man  who  was  so 
stalwart  here  is  stalwart  there.  The  giant  has  shaken 
from  himself  the  weariness  and  weakness  of  the  flesh. 
Panoplied  in  strength,  tro})hied  in  victory,  he  has 
alreadv    taken    rank    among    those    whom    the    King 


HOMER      EATON 93 

counts  worthy  to  be  companioned  eternally  with  His 
translated  sons.  He  shall  be  seen  by  us  in  the  flesh  no 
more,  but  the  lure  of  his  life  will  ever  constrain  us 
toward  that  better  life  into  which  he  has  surely  gone. 


EDWIN    R.    GRAHAM,    PUBLISHING    AGENT    OF    THE 
METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH,    CHICAGO 

HAVING  been  associated  with  Dr.  Eaton  since 
the  General  Conference  of  1904,  I  had  learned 
to  love  and  respect  him  as  a  friend,  and  to 
look  up  to  him  as  a  man  of  high  moral  character  and 
as  a  true  Christian.  He  was  one  of  the  commanding 
figures  in  Methodism,  having  occupied  his  position 
as  Publishing  Agent  as  long  as  any  other  man  that 
has  been  elected  to  that  position.  He  was  a  man  of 
the  greatest  integrity,  a  wise  and  safe  counselor;  a 
man  with  whom  it  was  a  joy  to  be  associated  in 
business.  It  was  always  his  desire  to  conduct  as  a 
Christian  gentleman  the  business  intrusted  to  his 
hands,  and  he  expected  all  who  were  associated  with 
him  in  business  to  measure  up  to  his  standard.  He 
was  honored  by  the  Church,  and  never  brought  dis- 
credit upon  her  either  through  his  work  or  his  life. 
He  was  a  man  who  stood  for  the  best  in  everything, 
a  man  whose  business  integrity  was  beyond  question, 
a  man  who  stood  ever  ready  to  answer  to  the  very 
best  of  his  ability  any  call  which  the  Church  might 
make  upon  him.  He  was  kindness  itself.  He  always 
showed  a  brotherly  spirit  toward  his  associates.  He 
was  a  man  of  afl'airs.  Whenever  he  came  into  con- 
tact with  the  business  world  he  was  recognized  as  a 


94 HOMER      EATON 

man  of  ability  as  well  as  one  of  high  moral  standards. 
I  shall  miss  his  kindly  counsel  and  shall  ever  remember 
him  as  one  of  the  best  and  truest  friends  I  have  been 
privileged  to  have.  His  work  here  is  accomplished; 
God  has  called  him  to  take  up  a  greater  work.  My 
heart  is  heavy  and  filled  with  sorrow  because  we  shall 
see  him  no  more  in  the  old  walks. 

SAMUEL    H.    PYE,    FORMER    PUBLISHING    AGENT    OF 
THE   METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH 

NEARLY  forty  years'  association  with  Dr.  Eaton 
in  business  gave  me  an  insight  into  his  rugged 
nature  not  often  acquired  in  the  life  of  any 
man.  His  unflinching  fidelity  to  the  interest  committed 
to  his  care,  his  geniality  toward  all  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact,  and  his  unswerving  loyalty  to  his  associates 
in  business  were  the  striking  characteristics  of  this 
noble  man.  I  am  grief-stricken  over  his  departure, 
but  have  full  confidence  that  I  shall  meet  him  in  that 
better  clime. 

DR.    WILLIAM    V.    KELLEY,    EDITOR 
THE    METHODIST    REVIEW 

ONE  of  the  stalwarts,  a  cedar  of  Lebanon.  Every- 
body looked  up  to  the  tall,  big  brother  of  us 
all  in  the  New  York  Book  Concern.  Big 
brained  and  big  hearted.  A  Green  Mountain  man, 
built  of  granite.  When  he  greeted  Dewey,  saying, 
"I,  too,  am  from  Vermont,"  the  lively  little  admiral 
looked  up  at  him  and  answered,  "You  look  it."  When 
he  visited  a  Conference  in  Richmond  a  Virginia  Negro 


HOMER      EATON 95 

said:  "Fo'  de  Lord,  I  thought  it  was  General  Robert 
Lee's  'ghost  walking  up  de  aisle."  Something  in  Homer 
Eaton's  body  and  spirit  and  speech  and  manner  sug- 
gested Abraham  Lincoln's  tall,  rugged  figure,  solemn 
face  and  homely  humor.  Take  him  for  all  in  all, 
we  never  shall  look  up  to  his  like  again. 


DR.    LEVI    GILBERT,    EDITOR   WESTERN 
CHRISTIAN    ADVOCATE 

DR.  HOMER  EATON  deserves  every  good  word 
spoken  about  him  by  eulogists  in  funeral  and 
memorial  services  or  put  into  print.  He  was 
in  every  sense  the  Christian  gentleman,  always  self- 
controlled,  deliberate,  wise,  far-seeing — his  private  and 
public  character  lofty  and  unimpeachable.  He  gave 
himself  to  his  Church  in  devoted  self-sacrifice  long 
and  admirably,  and  died  at  his  post  of  duty  while 
still  wearing  his  armor. 

In  the  important  position  to  which  he  was  called 
as  one  of  the  responsible  heads  of  our  great  publishing 
interests,  he  acquitted  himself  from  first  to  last  with 
conspicuous  credit.  He  so  familiarized  himself  with 
the  business,  so  mastered  every  detail,  foresaw  so  many 
possible  openings  for  improvement  and  expansion,  and 
developed  such  practical  capacity  that  the  Church 
reposed  supreme  confidence  in  his  management,  and 
he  never  disappointed  that  trust.  He  was  alert  and 
full  of  plans  and  hence,  in  conjunction  with  his  fellow- 
agents,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  business  of 
the  Book  Concern  brought  to  its  present  imposyig 
proportions    and    very    satisfactory    profits.     Such    a 


96 HOMER      EATON 

masterful  man  and  capable  leader  and  superintendent 
in  any  other  similar  business  in  the  secular  world 
would  have  received  double  or  treble  his  salary  com- 
pensation. 

He  is  gone  from  us,  but  his  memory  will  linger 
as  that  of  a  genuine,  noble,  hard-working,  devoted 
laborer  for  Christ  in  our  Methodist  field — one  whose 
power  will  long  be  felt  in  the  personal  influence  he 
left  behind  him  and  in  the  prosperity  and  magnitude 
of  a  wonderful  plant,  dedicated  to  religious  literature 
and  the  spreading  throughout  the  world,  by  the 
printed  page  in  book  and  journal,  the  inspiring  truths 
of  Christ's  gospel.  We  invite  a  most  careful  perusal 
of  the  tributes  herewith  presented  to  his  life  and 
services — tributes  which  ought  to  inspire  in  every  one 
of  our  readers  sincere  thankfulness  to  God  for  such 
a  representative  and  promoter  of  our  Methodist 
agencies,  reaching  from  this  continent  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth. 

DR.    DAVID    G.    DOWNEY,    BOOK    EDITOR 

HOMER  EATON  has  been  for  so  long  a  time 
a  dominant  figure  in  Methodism  that  it  is 
difficult  to  think  of  our  Church  without  him. 
Especially  is  this  true  with  reference  to  Book  Concern 
and  missionary  matters.  Time  kindly  adjusts  us  to 
our  losses,  but  it  will  be  many  years  before  the  Church 
will  easily  adjust  herself  to  the  absence  of  this  man 
of  power.  The  secret  of  Dr.  Eaton's  influence  was 
largely  in  his  poise  and  reserve.  He  was  not  loquacious 
nor  unduly  assertive.  His  spirit  was  genial  and  his 
logic   was   not   spiced   with   personalities.     His   noble 


H  O  :M  E  R      EATON 97 

bearing  gave  one  the  sense  of  poiver  in  repose.  Method- 
ism long  since  learned  to  put  confidence  in  his  judgment 
and  to  accept  without  much  question  his  wise  coun- 
sels. Intrusted  w^ith  heavy  duties  and  large  respon- 
sibilities, he  met  them  with  utter  fidelity.  He  was 
true  to  every  trust,  and  to-day  his  praise  is  in  all 
the  churches.  Physically,  mentally,  and  spiritually 
he  was  cast  in  heroic  mold,  and  now  that  he  is  gone 
we  know  that  men  of  his  type  are  rare. 

DR.    JOHN    T.    MC  FARLAND,    EDITOR   SUNDAY 
SCHOOL   PUBLICATIONS 

DR.  EATON  was  a  man  built  after  a  large  pattern, 
deeply  grounded  in  Christian  faith  and  prin- 
ciples, nobly  proportioned  in  character  and 
faculties,  having  a  comprehensive  grasp  not  only  of 
the  publications  interest  of  the  Church,  but  its  world- 
wide program, wise  in  counsel,  steadfast  in  purpose,  loyal 
in  friendship,  a  consecrated,  large-hearted,  practical 
Christian. 

DR.    JESSE    W.    JENNINGS,    OF    THE    KANSAS 
CITY    DEPOSITORY 

DR.  HOMER  EATON  was  one  of  the  giants  of 
Methodism  in  strength  of  character  and  Chris- 
tian service.  Verily  he  served  his  generation 
well,  then  ''fell  on  sleep."  There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind 
but  that  the  whole  Church  recognizes  a  great  loss  to 
the  working  forces,  while  the  Master  says,  "Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  into  the  joj^  of  thy 
Lord,"  to  which  welcome  into  the  rest  that  remaineth 
to  the  people  of  God,  all  people  respond  Amen. 


BURIAL  SERVICE 'AT 

ALBANY  RURAL  CEMETERY,  ALBANY,  N.  Y. 

APRIL  9,  1913 


ADDRESS 

BY    REV.    WILLIAM    H.    HUGHES 

IN  the  year  1857,  in  the  month  of  May,  Troy  Con- 
ference held  its  annual  session  in  Pittsfield,  Mass. 
There  were  notable  men  members  of  that  Con- 
ference in  those  days,  such  men  as  Tol)ias  Spicer,  John 
P.  Newman,  Seymour  Coleman,  the  Starks  brothers, 
the  Hall  brothers,  Andrew  Witherspoon,  William  Grif- 
fin, and  others  of  like  quality. 

Among  them  was  another,  conspicuous  for  vigor 
of  intellect  and  kindness  of  heart.  It  will  not  be  inop- 
portune for  me  to  say  a  few  words  concerning  this 
man  of  interesting  history.  He  was  a  stalwart  son  of 
Vermont;  he  spent  the  major  portion  of  his  life  in 
his  own  native  town,  trusted  and  honored  by  his 
neighbors. 

Twice  they  elected  him  to  represent  them  in  the 
Legislature  of  the  State,  and  it  was  currently  talked 
that  higher  civil  honors  awaited  his  coming. 

To  him,  however,  there  had  come  the  clear  and 
insistent  call  to  the  ministry.  He  was  reluctant  to 
enter  the  regular  work  because  of  the  care  of  parents 
in  advanced  age.  Licensed  as  a  local  preacher,  he 
supplied  churches  more  or  less  easily  reached  from 
his  home;  indeed,  for  two  years  he  was  "supply" 
pastor  of  the  church  in  his  own  town.  Even  more, 
after  he  had  united  with  the  Conference  he  was  ap- 
pointed pastor  of  the  same  church — the  welcomed 
confidant  and  counselor  of  his  townsmen. 

101 


10-2 HOMER      EATON 

When  forty-four  years  of  age  he  united  with  Troy 
Conference,  afterward  transferred  to  the  Vermont  Con- 
ference (by  a  change  in  the  Conference  boundary). 

He  was  a  delegate  to  our  General  Conference  and 
Presiding  Elder  of  Burlington  District. 

Returning  to  Troy  Conference,  he  served  churches 
faithfully,  and  died  a  few  miles  from  where  we  are  now 
standing,  and  his  body  rests  in  this  city  of  the  dead. 

This  man  rejoiced  in  the  fellowship  of  his  brethren, 
Conference  sessions  were  a  delight  to  him,  but  this  ses- 
sion in  18.57  was  a  great  joy,  for  it  was  at  this  time  this 
good  man,  Bennett  Eaton,  saw^  his  two  boys,  Joel  W. 
and  Homer,  enter  the  Conference,  and  doubtless  with 
his  uplifted  hand  he  voted  for  their  admission. 

A  great  gladness  to  the  father,  and  an  event  of  no 
small  moment  to  the  Conference,  for  these  two  brothers 
rendered  a  half  century  of  useful  service,  and  have  been 
unsurpassed  in  leadership  in  our  councils. 

In  1880  Troy  Conference  contributed  a  choice  gift 
to  wider  Methodism,  Methodism  of  America,  Meth- 
odism of  the  World.  The  (General  Conference  met  that 
year  in  Cincinnati.  It  fell  to  my  honorable  lot  to  nom- 
inate Homer  Eaton  to  represent  the  Second  General 
Conference  District  in  the  Book  Committee. 

The  Conference  approved  our  choice  and  elected 
him. 

He  served  eight  years;  his  colleagues,  impressed 
with  his  ability  and  courage,  then  elected  him  to  be 
one  of  the  Book  Agents,  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by 
the  death  of  the  lamented  John  M.  Phillips. 

Each  succeeding  General  Conference  has  continued 
him  in  this  office.      The  General  Conference  of  1912, 


H  O  M  E  R      E  A  T  O  X 103 

while  retiring  men  because  of  age,  reelected  him  one  of 
the  Agents. 

And  the  Book  Committee  selected  him  to  be  Gen- 
eral Agent,  thus  placing  this  man  of  many  years  in 
charge  of  the  publishing  interests  of  our  great  Church. 
I  do  not  need  to  repeat  what  others  have  so  well  said 
of  the  unsurpassed  success  of  this  large  task.  I  need 
only  say  Troy  Conference  has  rejoiced  in  his  achieve- 
ments, and  has  been  proud  that  he  belonged  to  us; 
and  he  belongs  to  us  still! 

Of  his  work  with  us  I  may  well  speak:  A  sturdy, 
confident  preacher  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord.  As  a 
pastor,  faithful  and  efficient.  I  know  there  are  pastors 
and  pastors,  not  all  are  alike.  I  know  the  sort  of  men 
that  the  laity  ask  for  when  they  look  for  a  man  em- 
inent for  pastoral  service.  They  seek  a  cheery,  affable 
man,  who,  visiting  from  house  to  house,  carries  sun- 
shine wherever  he  goes.  I  do  not  doubt  they  seek 
what  they  want,  l)ut  I  am  inclined  to  congratulate  the 
Church  that  now  and  then  there  comes  to  the  charge  a 
man  whose  chief  (jualification  for  pastoral  helpfulness 
is  the  largeness  of  his  personality — the  man  to  whom 
the  parishioners  look,  and  not  in  vain,  for  aid  in  the 
hour  of  emergency,  and  in  days  of  doubt,  and  find  it 
in  the  mental  and  moral  size  of  the  pastor. 

I  know  another  man  of  wIkhu  his  CcHiference 
brethren  never  thought  as  a  superior  pastor,  but  a 
broad-minded,  close-observing  layman  declared,  "He  is 
the  best  pastor  our  Church  ever  had!"  Homer  Eaton 
belonged  to  this  rare  order  of  pastors. 

Perhaps  his  finest  service  among  us  was  given  in 
the  Presiding  Eldership.      There  have  been   Presiding 


104 HOMER      EATON 

Elders,  there  are  District  Superintendents.  I  have  a 
generous  hopefulness  for  my  younger  brethren  who  do 
now  or  may  hereafter  serve  in  this  office,  but  I  care 
to  say  they  will  do  fairly  well  if  they  make  the  District 
Superintendency  of  the  Twentieth  Century  equal  to  the 
Presiding  Eldership  of  the  Nineteenth. 

The  Presiding  Elder,  justly  yet  generously  estimat- 
ing the  ability  of  his  brethren,  correctly  gauging  the 
needs  of  the  charge,  and  then  counseling  the  wisest  pos- 
sible adjustment  of  men  to  the  w^ork,  does  a  great  work; 
but  oh,  so  much  more,  when  now  and  then  he  gives  a 
brother  a  margin  of  opportunity,  assigning  him  a  task  a 
bit  too  big  for  him,  but  keeping  in  close  touch  with  him 
and  thus  stimulating  not  only  by  his  presence,  but  by 
words  of  wisdom  and  experience,  enables  the  brother 
to  accomplish  more  than  he  is  able  to  do  alone.  That 
is  the  joy  of  the  office!  Homer  Eaton,  the  Presiding 
Elder,  was  always  in  this  big-brother  business.  When 
he  went  from  us  into  the  Agency  of  the  Book  Concern 
we  thought  we  had  only  loaned  him,  but  the  Church 
took  him  as  a  gift  and  never  returned  him  to  us.  Only 
now  they  bring  back  the  remains  of  his  fine  physical 
form  vacated  by  the  great  soul  that  so  many  years 
tenanted  it. 

The  story  of  the  Eatons  is  well-nigh  ended.  Only 
one  lone  woman  remains.  To  her  we  tender  our  sin- 
cerest  sympathy. 

None  of  his  colleagues  in  Church  work  mourn 
him  more  than  we  who  have  been  comrades  of  his 
many  years  in  our  Conference. 

I  am  lonely !  I  have  followed  so  many  dear  friends 
to  the  grave.     It  was  mine  to  recite  the  words  of  our 


H  O  IVI  E  R      EATON 105 

Ritual  in  committing  the  body  of  the  blessed  brother 
to  the  grave.  I  sought  the  divine  grace  upon  Joel's 
heart  when  we  bore  his  beloved  Marion  away.  I 
voiced  the  tribute  of  the  Conference  at  the  funeral 
services  of  Joel;  and  now  I  join  with  others  in  our 
final  burial  services  of  our  beloved  Homer. 

Two  thoughts  more  and  I  close.  The  distinguish- 
ing quality  of  Homer  Eaton  in  his  work  was  his  "re- 
pose." He  did  his  tasks  easily,  and  so  often  we  thought 
he  could  do  more  if  more  was  needed.  He  never 
seemed  to  reach  the  climax  of  his  ability.  He  has 
gone  into  another  life.  I  am  not  content  to  call  it  a 
life  of  rest.  To  my  thought  he  has  gone  where  service 
large  enough  for  his  great  soul  has  been  given  him. 

Once  more  it  is  a  blessed  privilege  to  be  a  minister 
of  the  gospel.  It  has  added  gladness  for  the  Methodist 
preacher.  Our  fellowships  are  so  intimate.  I  have 
chosen  for  my  most  intimate  friends  Methodist 
preachers.  Homer  Eaton  was  one  of  them.  Farewell, 
dear  brother!  It  shall  be  blessed  when  we  meet  again 
to  part  no  more  forever. 


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